Guardian
by DivergentIAm
Summary: Willow "Lo" has decided to stand up against her father's delusional belief in "Genetic purity", so she and her brother embark on a Journey into the walls of the city of Chicago to destroy the hold David has on the city. She goes undercover as a dauntless initiate to complete her mission, only to fall for the one guy she knew she shouldn't. *rated M for future chapters
1. Chapter 1

**Before you read this you should know that this story starts at the beginning, during Tris' initiation. I will also be following the movie closer because i loved the characters who played it and because i just loved it in general lol.**

 **Disclaimer!I do not own any of the Divergent character's except my own OC's. With that said please enjoy.**

 **Chapter 1:**

"Willow, reconsider this! The plan is beyond flawed!" Michael hissed in my ear as he scurried after me. Although he was taller than me, my strides were long and confident, unlike his.

"Sometimes, the simplest of plans are the best." I answered, sending him a wicked smile over my shoulder. "And there's no goddamn way I'm postponing this. Jeanine is planning something big and people are going to die, and for what?" I hissed, my fist clenching in anger. "My father and the council's belief that there is such a thing as damaged genes?" I scoffed, as i continued walking through the compound, not bothering to check if he would keep following me. Michael wouldn't stop trying to convince me to change my mind; he worried too much.

"I _know_ , okay? I've been running tests ever since Dr. William gave me full authorization and I've gotten the same conclusion each time; everyone has their own unique genetic sequence. I've realized my mistake in believing their lies after getting different results with each test but-"

I spun around abruptly, startling him enough that he stopped speaking and almost fell into me. I managed to steady him before we both ended on the ground, sending him an apologetic smile before speaking. "Then you understand why I need you here, helping the other's cover up for me and Forrest." I straightened, looking him directly in the eyes. "My father and the other "pure"," I used my fingers to mockingly emphasize the disgusting title my father gave himself and other people he deemed had pure genetics. "are so busy with their own research and the sticks shoved up their asses to even bother keeping track of what's going on in Chicago. You know as well as I do that they leave that for the rest of them." I nodded to the people dressed in the dark colors labeling them as "damaged".

Although my father preached about equality, these people were still labeled and treated differently. Hell they weren't even allowed on the upper levels where all the high tech labs and shit were, yet the pure had full privilege over the entire compound. It was disgusting and downright wrong. And it was the reason Forrest and I were doing this in the first place.

Michael stared at me long and hard through his light brown eyes, analyzing me to see if he found any hesitation or indication of being unsure of my plan up. Finally after a long silence, he sighed, closing his eyes tightly before muttering his question. "How long?"

"I don't know." I answered honestly, and simply pecked his cheek when he sent me a glare. He was like my brother, worrying about my safety just as much as Forrest did. "I don't know what technological advances Erudite have managed to make, but I know for sure it's still not going to be any where near what we have." I gestured to the high tech computer monitors, and other devices every one was using. Many of the vehicles and devices we had were redesigned by our scientists, and much more advance than they had ever been before the war. Chicago's very own Erudite had brilliant scientists among them, but they still hadn't reached our level of scientific sophistication. "It's going to take a while to adjust to it, then even longer to find a way to hack the network and destroy the program my father is using to control Chicago." I looked around frowning as I saw one of the teenagers that would be in this years Choosing ceremony. My father had taken a great interest in her because of who her mother was; Natalie Prior was a legend around here.

Even knowing that she would probably be extremely helpful while we we're infiltrating, I wasn't sure how she'd feel about us going against my father. After all her loyalty lied with him and he was the big boss. I couldn't risk her outing us to my father. This mission was too important.

"Tell me again why I shouldn't lock you up in your room for the rest of your life?" Michael asked me wearily.

"Because you know as well as I do, that if we don't do something to break my father's hold over them, innocent people are going to keep dying and my father might just start another war." I said seriously, my eyes scanning the compound, making sure no one was listening to us. "And then we'll be right back where we started." I finished grimly.

"Fine, but how are we going to explain to your father your long term absence?" He asked me looking at me as if he finally found a flaw to my plan.

"Forrest and I already informed my father we were going to go to the fringe on a long term project to work on a way to control the entire group instead of just the children." I answered easily, looking for my brother now. "He's been going crazy about the slow process of getting those people out of the fringe. He doesn't like not having control over them, so he agreed without hesitation." I rolled my eyes. Leave it to my father to worry more over his control on people than the safety of his daughter. It was no secret that the fringe was dangerous, the people there are "genetically damaged" as my father put it, and they didn't agree with the Bureau. They were like our own version of the factionless. I really couldn't blame them, and couldn't help but wish i could do more to help them. But I guess that the first step in doing so would be to take down the Bureau of Genetic Welfare.

"You've got to be kidding me." Michael muttered under his breath, dropping his head dejectedly. "When are you scheduled to leave?"

"Didn't you get my father's email?" I raised an eyebrow at him, barely resisting the urge to laugh knowing full well that this conversation will lead to a tantrum. "You are in charge of making sure my departure goes smoothly in two days time."

"Two days? That's when the choosing ceremony is." He tilted his head to the side confused before realization dawned on him. "Willow are you kidding me?! There's no way we're going to pull this off!" He hissed in my ear, dragging me towards his lab.

I scoffed, allowing him this once, to drag me around when we both know I could have broken his wrist in 2 seconds flat. "Michael, you are the youngest scientist in the entire Bureau, if there's anyone that could do it, it's you." I pointed out matter of factly.

"Okay let's forget that for a second and focus on the two days I have?! Two days to put you and Forrest in the system and erase the right peoples' memories to ensure you aren't discovered!" he snapped, opening the door of his lab, and making sure no one else was inside. I don't know why he bothered, his supervisor was never around.

"Well that's why _you're_ the genius." I smiled sweetly, as I lowered myself into his chair. When he continued to scowl, I let out a long breath, leaning my head on my hand as I looked at him. "You're over analyzing, Mikey." I murmured softly, letting my posture relax and relaxed my gaze. "Everything will be alright, I promise. Forrest and I will destroy the program, free Chicago and in the process save hundreds of innocent people from whatever Jeanine is planning."

"How can I not over analyze when the plan if beyond flawed? A million things can go wrong." He frowned as he started going to work on my profile.

"And I trust you to make sure we make it through." I said firmly, willing him to believe in our mission. He grumbled a few things under his breath, but settled into his work without any further complaints.

"Jack will sneak into Erudite to hide the box with everything Forrest requested. You make sure to keep your watch on you at all times, it's going to be a pain in the ass to replace it." He muttered as his fingers flew across the keyboard.

"Couldn't you guys have figured out another way for me to communicate with you guys? I hate Morris code." I grumbled, leaning over his shoulder trying to keep up with him, but it was impossible. Unlike him and Forrest, I had focused on combat more than my actual studies. Although I did a good job of fooling my father into believing that I was as ready as Forrest to take over the Bureau at any minute. It would have been easier if he did let us take over, but my father was too damn proud and arrogant to let go of his position.

After a few more moments of silence, the door dinged as someone unlocked it. I casually turned my head on Michael's shoulder just in time to see my father enter. Trying to keep my cool I sent him a charming smile, straightening slowly, so as to not draw attention to Michael's screen. Thank God, I could see him exiting the files and pulling up a file with someone's genetic makeup on display. "Father, to what do we owe this pleasant surprise?" I questioned lightly, looking him over for any indication that he knew about our plan.

"I came to see how the planning was going for the trip in a couple days." He answered casually, with a proud smile on his face. "I want to make sure my children are as comfortable and free to work as you need. Michael, I assume you got my email?" Although it was posed as a question, we both knew it wasn't.

"I did, David." Michael answered pleasantly, turning to face my father. "I was just discussing the details with Willow, but she just gave me a run by since Forrest is more experienced with the equipment they might need."

"Of course, Forrest should be coming to see you soon then, he himself was in the storage units looking over the things he needed." He nodded his head with approval, looking around the lab once more. "I'll leave you to it. Willow, I'll be seeing you and Forrest off the morning of."

Nodding to him, I watched him with narrowed eyes as he casually walked out of the lab. "I don't trust that man one bit." I bit out once the door was closed.

"And he's your father." Michael commented warily, but continued on with the files.

"Details." I waved the comment off. "Email me the details when they're done and I'll run them through Forrest. Jack will be making sure everything we need will be handled, and will even set up the equipment where we told my father we'd be. The computers are program to reroute our "data" to his personal tablet."

"Where did you get this "data"?" Michael asked, throwing me a look over his shoulder.

"One of the assistants was actually looking into it to impress my father. Got the idea from her, she's even helped with this whole plan." I shrugged with a smile.

"How is that that so many people know about this but haven't reported it to David?"

"Well they're all the people he has deemed "genetically damaged" and they know I work as hard as I can to prove they aren't, that we're all equal. I also think they believe I have a chance at this because I'm his daughter, I'd be the best chance they got at bringing him and the organization down."

It was silent for a while except for the sound of Michael's typing, before he finally spoke up in a soft voice. "I believe in you too you know."

"I know." I answered reassuringly. "And I know that your doubt is only because you're worried something's going to happen to us in there."

"I can't protect you guys, only send short messages that hopefully give you a heads up when something's about to go down."

"And I trust that you'll do everything you can for us." I planted a kiss on the top of his head. "Now get moving, we have less that 48 hours to perfect this shit as much as possible." And with that I stepped out of his lab and went about finalizing my own shit before we left.


	2. Chapter 2

**I rewrote this chapter after rereading it to continue with chapter 3, and i had a whole issue with reposting this so sorry for any confusion!**

 **Chapter 2:**

"What's your full name?" Forrest asks me, leaning back on his elbows as he looked at me, the file with my new identity lying on his stomach. Yesterday night Michael had email us our files, and we'd spent the entire night memorizing it. This morning Forrest insisted we quiz each other sometime today, and because we had been busy the majority of the day, we hadn't gotten to it until an hour ago. It was currently a quarter to 1 and I was beyond exhausted, but I knew it was my last night with my brother in god knows how long.

"Louise Lockwood." I rolled my eyes, skimming through his own file. "What's _your_ name?"

"Boyce Lockwood." He answered quickly. "How old are we?" he tried to keep a straight face but lost it when I threw a pillow at him.

"18, you moron." I rolled my eyes at him, before looking down at his file again. "What faction are we from?"

"Erudite." He answers without hesitation. "What faction will _you_ chose?" he flips his curly brown hair out of the hazel gold eyes we both shared. He was 10 minutes older than me, but he looked years older; I guess it was because of his neat facial hair. He was taller than me but almost a foot, which was incredibly annoying, but I knew I'd miss his teasing after tomorrow –well today.

"Dauntless, of course." I laughed, stretching out on my bed, appreciating the softness of it while I still could enjoy it.

"Are you nervous?" He asked me, dropping onto his back next to me. "I mean they make cuts, Lo."

"Have you seen me during combat practices? I even have more muscle than you." I snorted trying to shove him off the bed. It wasn't entirely true because although I had a toned body, he was lean in a muscular way. "I'm going to make it. I _have_ to make it." I added seriously. "But hopefully we don't actually have to stay until the end of initiation." I played with his hair, twirling a curl around my pointer finger.

"Come on, Willow." He scoffed, pulling on my own curls, turning to face me. "We both knew from the beginning this wasn't going to be easy, and it's definitely going to take some time." I looked at him then, my eyes roaming over his expression. "First we have to learn how to use their tech, then we have to decode the servers that run the programs _and_ after all that we have to find a way to stop and destroy the program; without getting caught, might I add."

"Let's not forget the serums." I muttered, shivering as I thought about the fear simulation I'd have to go under if I made it to stage two of initiation. "Jeanine has full access to each serum, if she discovers us, or even realizes we're "Divergent", then bye bye memories or hello drone Willow and drone Forrest." I sighed, running my hand over my face.

"We're doing this for the good of the world." He reminds me, patting my arm.

"Yeah, because dad's idea for "doing good for the world" went so well." I muttered rolling my eyes. "What if we make this worse?" I asked quietly after a while.

"We have the numbers on our side, Lo, and they believe that we can change everything here." He said sternly, sitting up in his chair. "The people our father looks down on, are on _our_ side and they outnumber him and his little army of so called pure followers." He rolled his eyes at that, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, you've re-convinced me to join this ridiculous plan." I tease with a smile. After a while it gets quiet and I look at him as seriously as I could. "Be careful Forrest, please, you're going to be with the devil herself."

He snorted. "Like you aren't going to be in any danger. Have you even read the file on the dauntless leaders?"

"Touché, but I have hand to hand combat experience. More than you." I added quickly when he opened his mouth to retort. He shut his mouth, turning his head to face the wall like a child. I laughed quietly, before yawning and getting comfortable with my remaining pillow.

"Get some sleep, punk." He finally muttered, kissing me on my forehead. "We have a big day tomorrow." I barely managed to mutter a goodnight before I was out.

"This is they're idea of fashion?" I asked pinching a bright blue blazer and picking it up to examine it as if it were a dead rodent. "Can't I wear something else?" I muttered, reluctantly putting it on over my white blouse when Forrest sent me a glare. We had left before dawn, meaning that I had barely gotten 4 hours of sleep before I was rudely woken up by Forrest. It had taken Jack and Forrest longer than we expected to set up the site of our "experiment" so we were running a little behind schedule, and it was making Michael more nervous then he already was.

My father, as promised, saw us off with a proud smile on his face, and it took everything in me not to punch him in the face. I know it was wrong of me, but no one knew what that man was capable of, and just how despicable he really was.

"Can you hurrying it up, Willow? It's a quarter to 7, and you two have to be at the ceremony at 8." Michael hissed at me tossing me a pair of flats. I rolled my eyes as I slipped them on, while simultaneously tucking my blouse into my form fitting slacks. The pants were the same ridiculous bright blue as the blazer and I couldn't help but grumble under my breath while I put my hair up into a neat bun, barely containing the curls.

"Let's go, we'll leave you at the top of the Hub, and Jack will make sure you two make it to the Lockwood's without a problem." We'd be dropped by helicopter and then we'd meet up with the newly brainwashed Lockwood's on our way to the ceremony.

"Yupie." I muttered climbing into the small air craft, checking my watch to make sure there weren't any glitches. Forrest climbed in next to me, while Michael took the pilots seat. "If you crash and kill us, I will resurrect both of us just so I can kill you again myself." I warned, grabbing onto the seat tightly, knowing that Michael didn't have a lot of experience with flying.

He waved me off, pushing buttons and switching gears or whatever it was he was doing. "Have some faith in me." And right when he finished that sentence we lurched into the air so suddenly, I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes. The usually silent chopper, made a weird, strained noise as we jerked around a few times before steadying itself, and settling into it's usual quietness.

"Michael!" Forrest snapped, straightening out in his seat. He should have been holding on since the beginning, but obviously trusted Michael too much.

"Sorry!" He so didn't sound sorry, the smug bastard.

After a few minutes of turbulence, we finally steadied out and the flight went smoothly… well as smoothly as we could manage. I could see Jack beside Michael, clutching the handle like his life depended on it, and if I wasn't so skeptical of Mikey's flying skills, I probably would have laughed.

It was a good 30 minutes before we were directly above the city, and I could just make out the Hub a few hundred feet in front and below us, through the thick fog. "Get ready!" Michael called out, and Forrest slipped into action, hooking up both of our harnesses, pulling on it to make sure it was secure.

"I love you Michael!" I shouted as I followed Forrest to the now open door and began my descent after him. When we were halfway down, I was jerked around, loosing my grip. Looking up Jack had slipped out of the helicopter and had almost dropped on top of me.

My heart was beating like crazy, and I tried to calm it down by closing my eyes and breathing deeply, before getting my grip back. I thanked the lord it was a chilly day, with no winds, except the occasional breeze. My heart didn't calm until my feet touched the top floor of the Hub, and even then, my hands were still trembling.

"Are you okay?" I heard Forrest's voice in my ear and I nodded, moving away to give Jack room. While Forrest helped him, I focused to fixing my now messy bun, cursing silently about how troublesome my curls were.

"Sorry about that Lo." Jack's deep voice sounded from beside me. I waved him a wave with a small smile.

"Forget about it, you didn't kill me so that's a plus." He smiled sheepishly, running his hand through his hair before gesturing for me to go inside first. From there he led us to the stairs, stopping right at the floor where the choosing ceremony would be taking place.

Hearing voices coming from somewhere below us, I looked down the staircase to see people in grey walking up the steps talking quietly, or not at all. Abnegation, the faction where Beatrice belonged to.

I looked at them all in wonder, noting how they all dressed plainly, almost as if they were wearing matching uniforms. "Let's go, Michael already registered us since we didn't really come in through the front." Michael whispered in my ear pulling me through the doors and into the floor where the ceremony would be held. I looked behind us to see that Jack was already gone, probably heading to Erudite to leave the little box with the things Forrest requested.

"Why didn't we just get dropped off somewhere else around the city? What if someone saw something?" I murmured back watching in amazement as people mingled, all dressed according to their faction.

"Artificial fog to cover up the chopper, and the Hub is the tallest building in the city. The only place where the cameras wouldn't have caught us."

"Right." I looked around, catching sight of the Lockwood's by the doors speaking with people I assume were their friends. I guess Forrest must have spotted them too because he stopped walking, looking in the same direction I was.

"So those are our parents, huh?" Forrest nudged me confirming my suspicions. "I don't see any resemblance between us." He muttered scrunching up his nose.

"Shit really? Maybe it's because they aren't _really_ our parents." I muttered sarcastically, just as our 'mother' turned around and sent us a mechanical smile.

"There you two are! I thought you guys would never wake up!" Helen, our fake mother, tsked, gaining the attention from our 'father' and their friends.

"I thought you wouldn't make it." Our 'father' teased lightly, a small frown playing on his lips, but the twinkle in his eyes gave away to his amusement.

"They actually seem nice." I murmured after sending them a sheepish smile. I felt bad using them and putting them at risk with Jeanine, but Forrest would be with them to keep an eye on them.

"At least you won't stay so you wont have to interact with them." He muttered back with a guilty expression.

"They can't visit during initiation." I say softly, as we get closer to them, keeping our distance as we waiting for them to lead us into the room.

"That eases my mind some." He whispered, shuffling closer to me as we stood behind our parents who were talking about scientific stuff with their friends. Finally, after a long heated discussion about one of their new gadgets, our 'parents' stepped away from their friends and lead us to find our seats. Along the way I caught sight of Beatrice and Caleb Prior with their parents, seeming to be conversing with Jeanine. Their results had come in yesterday, and Beatrice's had been manually entered, which made my father suspect she was Divergent. We hadn't gotten a full report before we left, so I wasn't sure.

I narrowed my eyes as I caught sight of some punks from Candor, bullying a few Abnegation teenagers. The poor kids looked just look down and didn't stand up to them them. I moved to intervene, but Forrest's hand wrapped around my arm and pulled me back into a hug.

"Easy there, Lo, we can't draw attention to ourselves." He said low enough that only I could hear.

"Then I hope that punk picks dauntless, and that I get to fight him." I grumbled, glaring at the back of the kid's head. He had dark brown hair, was taller than me but lanky. I felt my brother's shoulders shake from his laughter, pulling me after his still laughing form to grab seats.

I ended up sitting next to our 'father'. He grabbed my hand affectionately and leaned into me to whisper something to me. "Whatever you choose, you're still our daughter." I looked up at him with curious eyes, detecting the sincerity in them, and I couldn't help the smile I sent him back.

The guilt I had been feeling eased a bit as I remembered what Michael had told me about the couple. Helen was barren and could not have children, even if the two genuinely wanted them. At least we had given them the chance to be parents, even if it was for a short moment.

The ceremony itself was long and boring, and I hadn't been paying attention so it startled me when Forrest squeezed my hand and stood up. I had to resist the urge to grab his hand and not let him go. But I reluctantly released my hold on him and let him walk up to the stage. I watched with a heavy heart as he took the knife from Marcus Eaton, cutting his palm without hesitation and letting his blood drop in the water that represented Erudite. I let out a breath as I watched him take a gauze and press it against his hand before walking back over to us, his dark blue blazer stretching with the movement. After he had taken his seat and the applause had stopped, Marcus called my name.

"Louise Lockwood." I stood, waiting as Forrest stepped out to let me pass, squeezing his hand in goodbye.

"I love you." I whispered as I walked past him and onto the stage. I didn't hesitate either when I took the knife and cut my palm before placing it over the burning coals. The minute my blood dropped into it, sizzling from the fire, I heard the roaring applause from my fellow Dauntless. I laughed, pressing the gauze on my bleeding hand, before walking confidently over to my new faction. A boy my age, stood up, patting me on the back and motioning for me to take his seat.

The minute I was seated I immediately searched for my brother, who was already looking at me with a small, sad smile. It felt like it had only been looking at him for a minute, when the people around me stood up suddenly, rushing out of the room. I followed them, after one last look over my shoulder at my twin.

Once we hit the stairs everyone was running full speed down the stairs, eager to get out. I found myself laughing as I ran after them despite the heaviness in my heart. Trying to forget about leaving my brother, I focused on running straight for the train tracks and climbing up easily as if I had done it thousands of times before. The climb was easy compared to the climbing I had done whenever I accompanied the teams to the fringe.

I made it up in no time, not even out of breath. I looked over to see Beatrice Prior finally making it up, brushing her hands down her baggy clothes. I was surprise to see her here, and I couldn't help but think the danger if she was Divergent, Dauntless was the second worse faction for them to be in.

"Hey!" I called out to her, reaching up to pull my hair out of the tight bun. "I'm Lo." I introduced myself when she looked over at me. I casually walked over her, as if I was walking on the street instead of a narrow metal rail. "What's your name?" I smiled at her, not offering y hand knowing the "stiffs" weren't too fond on physical contact, no matter how small.

She smiled timidly back. "Beatrice." I sent her a lazy grin, looking around at our rowdy faction members.

"They're crazy aren't they?" I asked just as I began to feel the shaking underneath my feet. I looked up in time to see the train approaching us. Fast. "Well, guess it's time for more running." I sighed heavily, as I started running when I saw the others start to run. Turning back, I groaned quietly. She was just staring at the train as if she was fascinated by it, instead of moving. "Hey come on! It's not gonna stop!" I called out to her, not bothering to wait for her. Knowing she'd make it – at least I was counting on her making it.

When the train zoomed past me, I pushed myself to full speed, catching up to the people in front of me, waiting for them to get in before grabbing on and swinging myself in. I stumbled a little when the guy before me hadn't fully moved out of the way. I grumpily shoved him out of my way before turning to see if Beatrice made it. Stepping closer, I ended up jumping back because she swung herself in. Once fully inside, she sat herself down by the door.

I laughed, as I sat in front of her, raising my eyebrow at her. She was out of breath and her cheeks were rosy red from the exercise. "Had fun?"

"So much." She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. Beside her was a light skin girl from Candor.

"I think they're trying to kill us." She breathed, her face covered with a light sheen of sweat. "Christina." She held her hand out to Beatrice who shook it quickly and muttered her name, before she turned to me.

"Lo." I shook her hand firmly.

"Nickname?" She asked with a smirk, and I smirked back.

"Didn't think Louise was good enough for Dauntless." I rolled my eyes, laughing when she agreed.

It was at least 20 minutes later that an older dauntless woman gave us the heads up that we were getting off. Christina frowned and looked out the door carefully. "They're jumping." Came someone's horrified voice.

"What if we don't jump?" A tall muscular guy from Candor asked looking scared.

"Then your factionless." The punk that had been bullying the Abnegation scoffed, getting running started before jumping.

Christina turned to us with a weary smile on her face. "Together?" Beatrice nodded.

"I'll be right behind you guys." They jumped off together, and I didn't hesitate to follow. I landed on my toes, rolling once to absorb the impact. Straightening myself, I looked over at Christina and Beatrice sitting by the edge of the roof laughing hysterically.

Smirking I walked over to give them a hand. "That was a beautiful landing, I give you both a 9 for the effort." I joked as I pulled them to their feet.

"How did you manage to not hurt yourself?" Christina scowled playfully, as we both walked over to where everyone was gathering.

"What can I say? It's a gift." I shrugged my shoulders, sending them a smirk.

Once there I caught sight of the most handsome man I had ever seen. He was tall, muscular, with blonde hair with the sides shaved short, leaving the middle longer. He had an eyebrow piercing that sparkled under the sun, and Jesus the tattoos! "I think I just fell in love." I muttered, checking him out without shame.

"Listen up initiates!" He called out loud and clear with what looked like a permanent scowl etched into his perfect face.

"Are you kidding me?" Christina scrunches up her face as she looks at me. We're both about the same height 5'4", while Beatrice was taller than us.

"Maybe it's the tattoos that's doing it for me." I murmur, running my eyes over him one more time, before it suddenly clicked. He was Eric Coulter, he defected from Erudite two years ago, making him my age and the youngest Dauntless leader. He was ranked second place in his class, bested by Tobias Eaton, Marcus' son whom he abused for years. He now went by Four. Looking around I didn't see him, which made me frown because now that I though of it, I hadn't seen his name in the list of dauntless leaders.

"I'm Eric, one of the leaders here at Dauntless. Congratulations on making it this far. Now you have to make it _into_ the Dauntless compound, and this is the way in." He tilts his head to indicated behind him. His intense grey eyes scanning the crowd quickly before landing on me. I raised an eyebrow at him, not impressed. Jumping off a roof? Really? That's the best they could come up with? I rolled my eyes, biting my lip to keep myself from laughing. It was a mean to just laugh, some people might be afraid of heights and this would be painful for them. But I expected more from Dauntless. Like maybe fighting our way in, with booby traps waiting for us at every corner or something like that - I don't really know.

"Is there water at the bottom or something?" Another Erudite transfer asked bringing me out of my thoughts. I was slightly surprised at the intense glare Eric was sending me before looking at the kid that spoke.

"Guess you'll find out." He shrugged carelessly, leaning back on the edge. "Is anyone going to man up and jump?" He looked around again, his eyes once more landing on me.

"What about you Nose?" he challenged me, stepping down from the ledge of the roof. The crowd of initiates parting for him, leaving an open path straight to me. "You up for it?"

My eyebrows shot up at his mocking tone, and I let out a light laugh "Why not?" I murmured with a small smile.

"Something funny, initiate?" he snapped at me as I stepped up beside him.

I tilted my head back to look at him, a smirk still playing at my lips as I shrugged out of my blazer. "Nothing at all, _sir_." I mock saluted him before stepping up on the ledge. I turned to look over at Beatrice and Christina who were looking at me with wide eyes. "See you on the other side." I flashed them a peace sign before take a step backward. And suddenly… I was flying.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello guys! I've been having difficulty trying to post chapters and i have no idea why. They never finish loading and it takes me like ten tries just to upload it. But anyway hopefully the problem gets resolved because Im currently working on chapter 4 and I'd like to have it up by tomorrow :)**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3:**

After I had taken the step off the roof, I ended up facing the sky, and it was a beautiful sight. The pretty white clouds littering the blue sky combined with the weightless feeling was enough to make me feel peaceful. But it was over just as quickly when I landed in the net. I bounced a few times before I finally settled in the center, pouting slightly because it was over. I yelped when the net was yanked hard enough to send me rolling towards the edge.

"Really?" A deep voice drawled. "A nose was the first jumper?" I looked up into warm brown eyes, meeting them with my own narrowed gold ones.

"What is it with you arrogant Dauntless and judging people so fast?" I snapped, ignoring his helping hand and jumped off the net easily. "I transferred for a reason." I sent him a quick scowl as I fixed my now wrinkled clothing as best as I could.

"Mouthy for a nose, what's your name?" He commented darkly, but there was a trace of amusement in his eyes. He looked slightly familiar, but I couldn't put a name to his face for the life of me. I'd read through a bunch of files Michael had deemed worthy of knowing.

"So I've been told." I muttered rolling my eyes. "And my names Lo." I added offhandedly, still trying to figure out who he was.

"First jumper, Lo!" He called back to the crowd behind him who cheered loudly. Before he could say anything else, a shadow swept over us briefly. Looking up, I saw the flash of grey that was from abnegation clothing and smiled brightly. "That's my girl!" I shouted as I tried to peek over the edge to catch a glimpse of Beatrice's face.

The guy stepped forward to jerk the net, catching her off balance and making her roll towards him. Beatrice's eyes were wide with excitement by the time he caught hold of her and helped her down. "You've got to be kidding me." He let out a snort as he looked her over. "Were you pushed?"

I almost laughed at the incredulous look she sent him right back. "No."

"So what's your name?" She hesitated for a moment, and he gave her an impatient look. "Is it a hard one? You can change it, but you wont be able to afterwards, so make it a good one."

This time she didn't hesitate. "Tris. My name is Tris." She smiled contently. I smirked, placing my hands on my hips.

"I might have underestimated you _Tris_." She laughed, but started to walk to where Grumpy pants pointed us to go to. I followed, tilting my head when I heard screaming. I watched in amusement as Christina bounced a few times on the net before settling. After her I didn't really bother paying attention to the jumpers.

"You're crazy." Christina breathed once she was by our side. "I don't know if Eric look impressed or ready to murder."

"Sorry, not sorry." I grinned, leaning my weight back on my right leg and crossing my arms. "He isn't the least bit scary, he is just simply an asshole." They laughed at me shaking their heads at my nonsense.

But we were interrupted by McGrumpy pants, I looked around and realized for the first time that all the initiates had already jumped down, including Eric. "Dauntless born you're with Lauren. I'm assuming you don't need a tour." His lips quirked into a small smirk. "Transfer's you're with me. I usually work in Intelligence, but I will be your instructor for the next two months. My names Four." That's when it clicked. Four; aka Tobias Eaton, ranked first in his class. Pretty

"Four? As in the number?" Christina snorted, and even I barely stopped myself from snickering.

"Exactly like the number." His low voice answered, with a raised eyebrow. Looking him over he looked a so much more different than the scrawny little boy from Abnegation. Seemed like Dauntless worked in his favor.

"What 1-3 were taken?" Christina snickered, making the majority of the group burst out laughing. I bit my lip to hold back my laughter because I had had the same exact reaction back when I first read his Dauntless file. But then I read about his fears and it all made sense.

His eyes narrowed, stepping forward to lean his face closer to hers. "What's your name?"

"Christina." My eyebrows shot up in surprise when she squeaked her name out.

"Well Christina," he hissed. "If I wanted to deal with smart mouth Candors, I would have joined their faction. First lesson you'll learn is to keep your mouth shut, clear?"

She nodded her head, not letting her breath out until he stepped away. "Jerk." She muttered grumpily, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Didn't know your voice could go that high." I teased nudging her shoulder with mine.

"Shut up." She mock scowled, stomping after the group. Tris was hiding a smile as she followed after Christina, me not far behind. Four led us to the 'Pit', and it was just that. A large pit surrounded by rock walls, and according to him it was the center of life at Dauntless. I didn't doubt him for a second as I allowed myself to get distracted by a couple of muscular men fighting in the center of a large crowd.

I couldn't help but admire their skills. They were like dancers, moving swiftly and gracefully. I think even I'd struggle in a fight with one of them. "What do you think you're doing initiate?" A deep, husky voice barked from behind me, breaking me from my trance.

I blinked, turning around to come face to face with Eric. I had to admit, despite the permanent scowl on his face he was incredibly handsome. And his eyes nearly had me swooning. But then I thought about the suspicious meetings between Max, Jeanine and him, and I couldn't stop my eyes from narrowing. "I thought it was obvious." I gestured to the men still fighting. "I was enjoying the show." I had to resist the urge to laugh when I saw his scowl deepen. I looked past him to see that Four and the others had reached the other side of the Pit.

I brushed past Eric to catch up with them before they left me here to find my way back to where ever I had to be. But before I could get past him, Eric's hand closed around my arm, hard. I clenched my jaw to stop myself from making a sound as his grip tightened. "I'd watch my mouth if I were you. You're forgetting that I'm a leader and I control your ranking." He snarled quietly in my ear, as he started dragging me after him, back towards the group.

I rolled my eyes, ignoring the stinging pain in my arm as I took long strides to match his long ones. "I'm _so_ sorry, boss." I drawled, leaningall my weight back suddenly, catching him off guard. His grip loosened enough that I could retch my arm out of his hold. "But thank you from bringing me back to the group, doubt little o' me could have parted the crowd like that." I smirked, eyeing the people that had given us a wide berth the minute they caught sight of Eric.

"Watch it." He snarled quietly getting in my face, eyes blazing. "Or you'll be factionless before training even starts."

I simply smirked, turning my back to him and sauntering off to catch up to Tris and Christina. Even after I was a distance away from him, I could still feel him glaring at me. I sighed, closing my eyes tightly, before opening them again. I had gone and done the one thing Michael had repeatedly told me not to do; I drew attention on myself. But it was as if I couldn't stop myself from talking back and acting out. It was because of this, that I'd always get in trouble back home. If I had decided to do this alone, my father would have never allowed me to go by myself because he didn't trust me to not get in trouble.

"Hey are you okay?" Christina murmured quietly, as we followed Four through the maze of hallways. She peeked over her shoulder for a second before turning back around so fast I was afraid she'd get whiplash. "Because Eric looks like he wouldn't mind throwing you into the Chasm." I had missed that part of the tour, having been occupied with my little spat with the steel eyed devil. I had been so worried about breaking my promise to Michael that I hadn't even batted an eyelash when I had to cross the bridge that only had railings on one side, leaving the other open for anyone to fall off at any second.

"Yeah, he was just being an ass." I rolled my eyes, while I kept track of the amount of hallways we were passing, mapping out the compound like I had been trained to. "I'd been distracted by the fight at the Pit."

"And he seemed so friendly up at the roof." She muttered sarcastically, and I couldn't hold back my giggles.

"This is where you'll be sleeping during your training." I looked up just in tome to see Four open a large metal door, gesturing for us to enter first. We stepped in, walking down the steps into a decent sized room with ten beds. "And before any of you ask, yes both boys and girls will be staying here." A bunch of people started muttering, not liking the arrangements, and I didn't miss the smirk that appeared on Four's face. I frowned, knowing that the next announcement wasn't going to be any better. "If you like this, you're going to love the bathrooms, he strolled in a damp, dingy room, smaller than the one where the beds were, but big enough to hold sinks in the center and shower heads with no stalls all around the room.

"You've got to be kidding me." Christina muttered looking around the room with disgust. Tris had a similar expression on her face.

"Alright, so here's how this is all going to work." Eric's loud voice echoed throughout the room. "You are only allowed to leave the compound as long as a Dauntless member is with you. Initiation consists of two stages and then the final test. First stage is physical training; it will start at 8 sharp tomorrow and will continue until 6, with a lunch break. After 6 you're free to do whatever you want. Stage two is mental, preparing you to face your worst fears and learn to fight through them. You will get a break between each stage."

"During the first stage we keep you separate from the Dauntless born since they have more experience then you." Four added in, leaning against the railing by the door we first walked in through. "But even though you will train separately, you will be ranked together."

"Why are we being ranked?" Someone from the front asked.

"They determine what job you can choose from after initiation. There are very few desirable ones." Four said shrugging, but I didn't miss the way Eric rolled his eyes.

"It also determines which of you gets cut, only the top 10 become members." Eric added with a smirk.

"What?!" Someone shouted. "Why didn't someone tell us this before?"

I looked over to Christina who looked outraged at the news, while Tris had grown sickly pale. I felt bad for her. She must have been thinking about the odds of her making it and according to her expression it wasn't looking good to her.

Looking back over at Eric, I watched as his eyes hardened. "Would it have matter? Would you have chosen differently otherwise? If so then you don't belong in Dauntless." He leaned closer to the person who had spoken. "You chose us, now we get to choose you."

With that he turned and left the room. We didn't speak, too lost in our thoughts, processing what we'd been told. I had known from the beginning how tough Dauntless initiation was, it was also the longest out of all the factions, lasting two months.

It was Four who broke the silence. "Get dressed, there's clothes in the bunks by your beds. When you're done you can follow me to burn your old clothes and then head down to the cafeteria to get dinner." With that he left us to get dressed.

I picked the bed closest to the door, with Tris to my right and Christina next to her. I threw the trunk open, rummaging through the clothes, noting they were too big. "Trade?" Tris winced, pulling out pants that looked to be around my size.

"Yes, please." I laughed tossing her the clothes I found and taking the ones she had. Picking out a pair of black cargo pants and a black, long sleeve shirt, I began stripping, starting with my pants.

Someone let loose a wolf whistle. "God damn Erudite, you really put the stiff to shame." I recognized the annoying voice. I turned my head to glare at the Candor that I had wanted to fight earlier today. His name was Peter; I had learned it after he jumped.

"Ignore him." I muttered to Tris, who was bright red as she shrugged off her dress, holding it to her chest as she hurried to pull on a shirt much like the one I picked.

I sighed happily as I pulled on the tight black shirt, feeling much more comfortable in the snug pants that hugged my hips and ass but were slightly loose from my knee down. Exchanging the flats for combat boots, I felt more like myself than I had in that stuffy erudite suit.

"Ready to destroy the last remnants of our old life?" I murmured lowly, wiggling my eyebrows.

"I'm more ready for food!" Chris groaned, putting a hand over her stomach. I laughed, gathering my old clothes, and skipping out the room.

Four was outside leaning against the wall waiting for us, and didn't hesitate to lead us to a bin with a burning fire in it. I tossed the bright blue clothes in without remorse, but I did notice Tris's hesitation. I didn't comment on it, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. It was quiet as we walked through the halls until we suddenly heard loud voices and yelling coming from up ahead. Craning my neck to look over Four's shoulder I could see people sitting on metal benches eating, talking and laughing. I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows at the sight of people who were either covered in tattoos and piercings or had wild hair styles dyed bright colors. Sometimes even both.

"Where do you want to sit?" Christina asked looking over her shoulder at us. It was Tris who indicated to a table with a few empty seats. There were two seats right between another candor boy and Four.

"Eh, why not?" I shrugged, heading around the table to sit across from Four, leaving Chris and Tris to figure out who was going to sit next to him. It ended up being Tris, but he barely glanced up at us.

The boy next to me with unruly brown hair that fell in his eyes, introduced himself as Will. He transferred from Erudite, and the guy on Christina's other side was Al, Candor. They had a field day teasing each other about their old factions before Will turned to look at me with a confused look on his face. "You know I don't really remember you from Erudite." He stated it, but I had sounded like a question. I had to resist the urge to groan, not really wanting to get into it with a Nose, as the Dauntless referred to them.

"I don't really remember you either." I grinned. "But then again I never really paid attention to anyone, also focusing on whatever project I was working on." I rolled my eyes, a teasing smile on my lips.

"I'm sure I would have seen you around, hell I didn't even know the Lockwood's had a daughter."

"And son." I added after taking of my burger. "Boyce, my twin brother."

Will opened his mouth to say something, but Four spoke up instead. "I don't want to hear about your old factions, you're Dauntless now." He said coldly, glancing at us as he took a sip of his water."

"Were you a transfer too, or Dauntless born?" Tris asked casually, and I couldn't help but raise my eyebrow at her forwardness. Christina almost choked on her food, and Will just glanced back and forth between Tris and Four, eyes wary.

"Are you kidding me?" Four asked incredulously, turning to face her.

"No." Tris responded but I caught the blush rising on her cheeks, and bit my lip to stop myself from butting in to get the spotlight off her. I had already drawn the attention of a faction leader, I didn't need to add the attention of my instructor too.

"What makes you think you can talk to me?" He snapped.

Her blush deepened, but surprisingly she didn't back down, simply stared at him for a moment longer. "It must be because your so approachable." She murmured at last, her answer making me let out a bark of laughter and Christina to spit out her water.

Four eyes snapped up to meet mine, and I bit my lip again to stop my laughter. His eyes went back to Tris, before looking at the wall behind me, taking another sip of his water, but not before speaking. "Watch it." It was silent for a moment, before Eric suddenly came over to our table, pulling over a chair and straddling it. "Aren't you going to introduce me?" He sent a cold smile to Four, nodding over to the three of us.

"This is Tris, Christina and Lo." He mutters nodding to each of us in turn. I didn't look at Eric instead focused on my fries, but I could feel his gaze on mine. I'd started enough crap with him, I didn't need to keep adding more, when I knew what my true mission was. Stay under the radar, and figure out how to get into the Dauntless computer system.

"Max has been looking for you."

"Tell him I'm fine with my current job in the control room." I looked up at Four surprised.

"You work in the control room?" I asked before I could stop myself. He nodded, giving me a weird look. "It's just that you said you worked with Intelligence; I didn't think you be stuck behind a monitor for a job like that." I lied quickly, ignoring the burning gaze from the silvery blue eyes I knew were watching me intensely.

"I monitor the entire city; I know exactly what's going on everywhere. It's my job to make sure nothing gets by us." He looked at Eric this time. "It's the job I wanted, and the one I picked after initiation." After initiation… I bit my tongue to stop myself from cursing out loud.

"So Max was offering you a new job?" I heard the curiosity laced with his usual bored tone.

"Yup, but my answer is still the same as the first time." Was Four's curt response.

"Then I'll let him know." I saw Eric's hand land roughly on Four's shoulder before he left. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding, feeling more relaxed without him there.

"Is he one of your friends?" I heard Tris ask. I frowned, knowing from the way Eric acted that he like antagonizing Four, and from Four's body language, it was obvious he didn't like Eric at all.

"No, we were in the same Initiate class." Was his short reply.

"He's pretty young for a Dauntless leader." Christina murmured.

"Age doesn't matter here at Dauntless."

"Clearly, it does." I murmured scanning the cafeteria once before voice my thoughts. "I don't see any old people around here. We all have en expiration date… and it's only a matter of time." I looked back at Four who was looking at me with open curiosity. "Am I wrong?"

He didn't answer, instead he got up from the table and left. "And I'll take that as a 'I'm right'." I took a sip of water.

"I was right too, about my theory." Christina chirps, smiling as she takes a bite of her burger. At the questioning glances we gave her, she swallowed her food quickly to explain. "That you two," She points at Tris and I. "have a death wish." At that we all laughed.

"I don't have a filter. I talk without thinking most of the time." I shrugged.

"You sure you're not from Candor then?" Al teases, and I couldn't help but smirk.

"I would have made a hell of a member in Candor." I said cockily, before getting up and taking my garbage with me to throw out on my way out. "Now if you excuse me, but I'm going to go get some beauty sleep. Seems like I'll need it if I'm gonna be taking punches from the lot of you." I wink right before I turned to leave.

Once I was out of the cafeteria, I couldn't help but running run a hand through my hair, frustrated. There was no way an initiate was going to be allowed into the control room, it was where they monitored everything and everyone. It would be the most secured place in the compound, meaning I'd have to pass initiation and pick a job there. That would be in two months; what if it was too late by then? I needed to think of a way to get in there without rising suspicions.

I let out a frustrated sound, before leaning against the wall, shivering when the exposed skin from where my shirt rode up, touched the cold wall. I braced my hands on my knees, bowing my head in order to recover my calm. My entire body was tense, coiled as if ready to strike at anyone and anybody.

"Relax." I took a deep breath. "Release." I let it out. "Ease." I rolled my shoulders before standing up straight. Rolling my shoulders one more time, I let out a growl not feeling anymore relaxed than I did ten seconds ago.

"Worried already, Initiate? Training hasn't even started yet." A dark voice chuckled lowly, making my muscle tense up even more. Looking back the way I came, I saw a dark silhouette of a tall, muscled man.

"What makes you think that's what I'm worried about?" I drawled. Loosening myself, ready if he decided to attack. He didn't answer, staying silent for a minute before stepping into the dim lighting of one of the few lamps scattered through the halls.

Eric didn't speak while he kept walking until he was right in front of me, and I was looking up at him since he had to be over 6 feet tall.

"What else could you be worrying about?" He smirked, looking down at me, head tilted back, stance lazy but yet ready to strike just like me.

"Maybe I'm worried about my friends." I slipped my hands into the pockets of my pants. "It's not hard to see who the vicious ones are, and they're usually the ones willing to go low enough to eliminate competition."

"You think your friends are competition?" He sounded like he was holding back his laughter.

A smirk tugged at my lips as I turned my back on him, walking away. "We all have potential, don't judge people by their appearance. The weak ones are always the ones to surprise us."


	4. Chapter 4

_Im so happy to see comments from you guys! I want you guys to feel free to comment any time! I really want to know what you guys think and if you like it!_

 _Juyon1 I like Lo too! lolol :) i think she's a good match for Eric ;)_

 _Thank you_ _izzy Uchiha for thinking my story is amazing! It means a lot to me:)_

 _And for Guest for liking it !_

 **Chapter 4:**

I sighed as I stood under the running water for a moment longer, enjoying the way the hot water eased some of the tension from my shoulders. I had woken up earlier than the rest, knowing that I needed to check in with Michael, who'd let Forrest know that I was alright. After my run in with Eric last night, I had taken the time to explore the compound carefully, checking where the cameras were and finding a perfect spot between the dorms and the cafeteria that didn't have a camera tucked away.

Turning the water off, I dried myself before wrapping my hair with the same towel. I dressed in the clothes I had picked out before showering, a pair of leggings and a tight v neck t-shirt. I walked out of the bathroom, my socked feet making absolutely no noise as I made my way to my bed to pick up my sneakers and my watch that I had hidden under my mattress.

Without putting them on I made my way to the spot, with the watch held tightly in my hand. Once there I lowered myself onto the floor, placing my shoes beside me, and thinking about what to tell Michael. After making my mind up, I started typing the message in Morris code, something I had hated but was forced to learn.

 _"_ _Initiation Day 1. Fine. Complication with infiltration of control room. I will figure it out."_

After sending the message, I switched it back to clock view, noting that it was just half past six. I had half an hour before the rest would wake up, that is if no one had woken up yet. I leaned my head back against the wall, waiting for Michael's response. I didn't wait even 10 minutes before I felt it vibrate.

 _"_ _Forrest had better luck. Be careful. Be ready in a month. Capture the Flag."_ I narrowed my eyes, wondering what they we're up too. They had a better communicating system considering Forrest was surrounded by computers and an easier access to Erudite system. I felt incredibly frustrated with the entire situation and I had to resist the urge to sneak out of the compound and go to Erudite.

I didn't answer, instead I stood back up and headed back to the dorms, stopping to pick up some muffins. When I turned the corner to the hall where it was, I caught sight of Four heading in with something in his hand. Confused I carefully made my way over. I didn't flinch when I heard the loud banging, having been prepared for anything.

"Wake up! You got 5 minutes to meet me in the pit!" His voice rang out, and I felt myself relax. It was our wake up call. I made myself jump when he stalked out, acting as if he had startled me. He eyes me carefully, taking in the muffins I held in my hand, one which I was munching on. "What are you doing up and about?"

I smiled sheepishly at him. "I'm used to waking up early, my brother and I had a routine back at Erudite." I looked down at my sneaker's, shrugging. "Old habits die hard." I peeked up at him to see him nod at me before leaving.

Rolling my eyes, I stepped into the dorms to see Christina and Tris getting ready. Christina looked like she was half awake, while Tris looked like she hadn't slept at all last night. It was kind of difficult with Al crying all night, but I had managed.

"Morning sunshine." I sang, leaning on the railing, taking another bite of my muffin. "You two looking lovely this fine morning." I laughed, when Chris sent me a dark look. "Aw don't be a grump, I brought you two food." I tossed the muffins at them, each landing on their beds.

"Thank you!" Chris exclaimed suddenly more awake as she took a big bite. Tris just smiled at me in thanks, nibbling on it.

Afterwards the three of us made our way to the pit, where Four and Eric we waiting for us. We walked over to where Al, Will, Peter and his group of friends were standing, waiting for instructions. Four looked around, checking to see if we were all there before stepping forward. "Alright, today we will start you guys off with gun training. So follow me." He led us up back to the roof, where they had set up targets all along the roof.

"You will be learning how to shoot this week, and you will be scored based on your progress. At the end of the week, you will take your final test." Eric smiled, but it wasn't a nice one. It was a cold and cruel smile. A few initiates began murmuring about the test, some nervous, and it was clear as day that Eric enjoyed watching them squirm.

Tilting my head to the side, examining him, thinking it was such a shame. I had read his file, he was in the top 5 of his class at Erudite, but he had anger issues, so it wasn't a surprise that his results had been Dauntless. He had potential to be a great soldier, but here, he was encouraged to embrace his viciousness. He could separate himself from his emotions, making him the perfect killing machine; the perfect puppet for whatever Jeanine wanted to accomplish.

"Watch me first." Four called out, snapping me out of my thoughts. And it was only then that I realized that Eric was staring back at me, curiosity shining in his eyes as he started intently back at me. I broke eye contact first, pretending to watch Four as he demonstrated how to hold a gun, the proper stance and then shooting the target. One bullet in the head, and another where the heart was supposed to be. After that he told us to grab a gun and start practicing.

I mechanically grabbed a gun, checking the chamber to make sure it was loaded, grabbing a few extra cartages before stepping up to a target. Christina and Al were to my right, while Tris and Will were to my left. I took up aim, purposely aiming for the dummy's shoulders and torso, not wanting to hit my targets right off the bat. I did that for a while, until I deemed it okay to hit my targets.

"You're really good at this." Christina commented from beside me. Looking over to her dummy, I saw that not all her bullets had hit it, only four holes scattered across its chest.

I shrugged with a smile. "I think it's fun."

"All your bullets have hit the target, and you didn't even flinch during the recoil. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you've had experience." A voice murmured from behind me.

Turning my head, I grinned, lowering my gun and putting the safety on. "My father was the head of the department of Weaponry and Ammunition. I worked with him a lot and tested most of the guns." I explained with a shrug.

He hummed, nodding for me to continue, and I did so ignoring the feeling of being watched. From beside me Tris wasn't having any luck; she hadn't hit the target even once. "Statistically speaking, you should have hit the target by now." Will's voice said matter of fact, and I didn't miss the way her eyes hardened with determination and started shooting again, but still didn't hit the target.

"Widen your stance, and line up your arms to your chest. The recoil will throw off your aim so aim lower than where you wanna hit. Take a deep breath and release it when you shoot." I spoke lowly so only she could hear me, never taking my eyes off my own target. She paused, and I felt her staring at me, so I flicked my eyes over to meet hers. For a moment, I wondered if she really was Divergent, and if so I hope she knew she had to protect herself. Nodding once, she turned back to the target and did what I told her, and sure enough she hit the target. Not anywhere vital but it was something. Smiling to myself I continued with my own training.

The rest of the week continued about the same, Tris getting better and better with a gun, and before we knew it. It was the day of our test. Eric had been busy with the Dauntless born initiates, so I hadn't had to worry about him for the time being. Christina, Will, Al, Tris and I had become good friends, and it was nice to have close friends. I had never had any besides Michael because of who my father was.

"Are you nervous about the test?" Tris asked me as we helped ourselves to breakfast in the cafeteria. Will and Christina were talking, and it was easy to see that Christina was shamelessly flirting with him. Al was sitting across from us eating his breakfast calmly, now looking up at us to hear my answer.

"I doubt she is, have you seen her skills with the gun?" he asked with a teasing smile, but his eyes were uneasy. I knew he was worried about the rankings. He was barely above the red line, while I was in 4th. Edward, Peter and Will ahead of me, and Christina in 8th. Tris was below the red line, but even she didn't look as upset about my skills as Al did.

"I mean we're running across the roof and hitting moving targets." I shrugged scooping up eggs and shoving them in my mouth, trying to keep my annoyance at bay. "I only got experience with nonmoving targets, just like the rest of you." I lied easily.

"I'm sure you'll do great." Tris assured me. It was amazing how much she had changed over the course of the week, seemingly more confident in herself. She was determined to rise up in the rankings.

"Thanks, so will you." I nudged her with my shoulder. "Don't think I haven't seen how much you've improved." She laughed lightly, her eyes traveling across the room, meeting Four's gaze. I couldn't help my smirk, nudging her once more. "Don't think I haven't noticed that either." I murmured lowly, not wanting Al to hear since I knew he had feelings for her.

"Shut up." She muttered lowering her head so her hair covered the blush that spread across her face.

"Hey I don't blame you." I smirked, trying to hold back my laughter. "He's easy on the eyes." I winked, unable to hold my laughter when she turned even redder.

"What?" Al straightened up, looking between Tris and I. "Who's easy on the eyes?" I laughed even harder at Tris' horrified expression.

"No one!" her voice was muffled from being buried in her hands. I was about to comment, when a tray slammed down beside Al, making him stiffen up. My laughter cut off abruptly as my golden hazel eyes met silvery blue ones.

"Something funny initiates?" His low, husky voice asked, looking at each of us in turn. Even Will and Christina had stopped flirting, eyeing the Dauntless leader cautiously.

"Nothing." I said breezily, picking my fork up and continuing with my breakfast. Tris didn't touch her food, and I looked up to see she was looking at Eric wearily. "So Tris, finally decided on whether you want a tattoo or not?" I asked, trying to get her to stop her stare down with Eric.

If she was Divergent, I don't want her on Eric's radar, even if she might already be on it. Jeanine gets all the feedback from the test results, and it wouldn't be surprising if she knew that Tris' results were inconclusive.

"I don't know yet." She finally answered turning to look at me.

"We should go today after the test!" Christina jumped in, looking beyond excited. "I've been dying to get one."

"Maybe you'll find something you'll like." I offered looking over to Tris.

She furrowed her eyebrows at me. "You're not getting one?"

"Yeah I am." I smirked. "I talked to one of the artist about it yesterday. Said they'd have a sketch ready by today."

"What you ask for?" Al asked curiously.

I put my finger to my lips, winking at him. "You'll see."

After that we all left the cafeteria, heading towards the roof for our final gun test. I rolled my shoulders, then my head, trying to relax my tense muscles, but I couldn't. I _felt_ Eric's presence, silently following after us. On our way, we ended up running into Peter, Molly and Drew, much to our annoyance. Luckily they ignored us, whispering amongst themselves.

The closer we got to the roof, the worse Al's nerves started getting. "Hey." I whispered, touching his arm with my hand. "You're going to do fine, you're not as good as me, but you got it." I teased, watching as he relaxed laughing softly.

"Why are you lying to the poor kid?" A voice I knew too well called out from behind us, and I just barely resisted the urge to punch him. "He's almost as bad as the stiff."

"Shut up Peter." I warned in a low voice, even though I silently prayed he didn't so I could finally kick his ass. I knew he was an asshole since I first saw him bothering Abnegation back at the choosing ceremony, but lately he's been even worse. His main target seeming to be Tris, and now Al. His viciousness and ranking made him a favorite amongst the Dauntless leaders, even if he did seem to get on their nerves sometimes.

"Are you really going to defend him?" he laughed harshly, stepping up so his face was close to mine. "You and I both know who the real man is here." He looked me up and down.

"Fuck you." I growled lowly, squaring my shoulders, my hand twitching with the urge to punch him.

He smirked, pressing himself against me. "Anytime, anywhere, babe." He reached down to try and grab my ass, but I was faster.

I grabbed his wrist, twisting it behind his back and slamming him against the stone wall. "Next time you try to touch me again; I'll break your fucking wrists." I hissed, slamming him against the wall once more when he struggled. "Understand?!" I snarled, putting more pressure on his wrist, smirking when he whimpered in pain.

"Yes!" he yelled through his clenched teeth.

"Good." I let him go, the smirk never leaving my face when he slumped down on the floor.

"Damn, Lo." I turned my head to see Christina and Will laughing at Peter who was scrambling to get back to his feet, glaring at me. Beside them Tris and Al were looking at me in disbelief, and I couldn't blame them. I was like a head shorter than him, but I wasn't scrawny, and they knew that.

"That was pathetic." I froze, hearing Eric's voice, mentally kicking myself for forgetting about him. I turned to see him looking at Peter, his lip curled in disgust. "She's half your size and you couldn't even break her hold?" Then his eyes turned to me. "How did you do it?" he mused coming closer to me.

I shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance. "He pissed me off." I looked over towards Peter who was glaring at me, his cheeks red with humiliation. "And there was no way I was gonna let him put his dirty ass hands on me." I spat, glaring back.

"Hm." Eric looked me up and down, his eyes running up the length of my body slowly. I felt my body heating up under his inspection, and that pissed me off more than Peter's stupid face.

"What?" I lifted my chin, challenging him with my eyes. "You gonna punish me for roughening up your initiate, boss man?"

His eyes blazed with barely control anger, the piercing over his eye glinting menacingly in the light. "Watch yourself initiate, you're threading a thin line here." His voice rang out like a whip, and I had to bite my tongue from saying something else that could get me in trouble. Instead I spun on my heels and started towards the roof again, my friends following me.

"You're really insane!" Christina hissed, casting a look over her shoulder before facing me again.

"He gets on my nerves." I muttered through clenched teeth, wishing I could go back there and punch Eric in his perfect fucking face.

"Which one?" Will asked amused, walking beside Christina, his arm close enough to brush hers.

"Both of them." I huffed out, my hands itching to get my hands on a gun. I was so mad that I threw the door open, making it crash against the wall. Four's head snapped up, narrowing on me but I ignored him, walking over to lean against the edge, trying to get my temper under control.

"Are you okay?" Tris' quiet voice asked me, snapping me out of my calming techniques.

"No." I answered honestly. "I'm just getting sick of the assholes around here."

"Glad to know that's how you feel about me." I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Glad to know that you _love_ following me around." I snapped, opening my eyes to glare at Eric, who was standing behind Tris, an amused smirked on his face.

"Garb a gun." He barked, his eyes blazing, his smirk turning cruel. I narrowed my eyes on him, walking over to a table with a dissembled gun and a single cartage. "You have 5 minutes to assemble it and hit every mark."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Or what?" By now all the initiates were already on the roof, their eyes flashing between Eric and me uneasily. I knew I was overstepping some boundary, but his holier than thou attitude was pissing me off. I was used to being the top dog back at the Bureau, and no one ever made it out a fight unscathed after talking to me like this.

But here, I had to take it and any punishment if I didn't do as expected. Knowing this, I still opened my goddamn mouth as if Eric wouldn't kill me without hesitation.

"You're going to wish you never chose Dauntless." He sneered, stepping closer to me until there was barely any room between us.

"I'm so scared." I laughed mockingly. Before I could even blink, he grabbed my arm so hard I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from making a sound. He practically threw me against the table.

"5 minutes! NOW!" I didn't say anything else, my hands automatically began assembling the gun with ease. Less than a minute later I was stepping up to the first target, shooting before moving to the next, crouching to get a good hit on the fast moving target. Each and every time, my bullets hit the mark.

When I hit the last target, I turned to Four who had the stop watch in his hand. He was looking at me with an unreadable expression, and I had to resist the urge to scream when I saw the suspicion in his eyes. "Two minute and thirty-five seconds."

"Am I done?" I asked, putting on the safety and setting it back down on the table.

"Yes." I didn't wait another second, instead I stalked out, needing to talk to my brother, to Michael. But I can't. I head over to the chasm, sitting with so my legs were swinging back and forth, and leaning my arms over the railing, pacing my forehead at them. I don't know how long I stayed there, only that it had been a while of me lost in my thoughts, listening to people come and go until I forgot about them and focused on the storm in my head. "I'm never going to make it." I groaned, lifting my head and scrubbing my hand over my face.

"Not if you keep antagonizing Eric." Fours low voice drawled. I didn't look up, instead I kept my head in my hand.

"Yeah well I can't help it if he keeps provoking me." I sighed heavily, looking up to watch the crashing waves below. "My temper was never nice to begin with, and he just knows what buttons to push."

"You're something else, Lo." He smiled at me, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." I replied sheepishly scratching the back of my head. "Hey did the tests end?" I questioned, standing up and stretching.

"Yeah a while ago actually." He looked around as if remembering where we were. "Your friends are in the cafeteria; they were looking for you."

"Thanks Four!" I waved at him and started jogging towards the dorms for a quick shower and change of clothes. Earlier in the week Christina had convinced us to go shopping so I had gotten new clothes that I could wear outside of training. After putting my wet curly hair up in a bun I pulled on a pair of leather leggings and a black long sleeved cropped top, and finally shoved my feet in a pair of combat boots before heading to the cafeteria.

Stepping inside, I saw that my friends were already halfway through their lunch. Chris was the first one to spot me. "Lo!" She yelled, waving her hand over her head. Unfortunately, she caused people to turn and look… including Eric.

Ignoring him, I made my way towards them, noticing they had also changed out of their training clothes. "Where were you?! We were looking for you." Chris looked so worried for me, I felt my heart clench as I sat down next to Tris.

"I'm sorry, I just needed to get out of there." I played with a stray curl that had escaped my bun. "Eric makes me so mad it's ridiculous." I muttered, my eyes straying over to where he was. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt with black jeans and hell if it didn't make him more delicious than usual. It also gave me a great view of his tattoos.

I looked away before I made a fool of myself. "Hey, it's okay." Tris placed her hand on my shoulder. "You had the best time of the class, which pissed Peter _and_ Eric off." She smiled.

I smirked feeling extremely proud of myself even if I no doubted made it onto Eric's watch list. "Forgetting those two dickwads, are we still on for tattoos today?" I murmured picking up an apple.

"Hell yes! I really want to see you tattoo!" We finished eating quickly, then heading off towards where all the shops were. We didn't even bother stopping to explore the shops, instead heading straight to the tattoo parlor. When we entered I caught sight of Tori, the artist whom I had been talking about my design with. Grinning, I made my way to her, excited about finally getting the piece I wanted.

"Hey!" I called getting her attention. She looked up with a friendly smile until she caught sight of something behind me. She lost her smile and her eyes darkened with anger. Turning my head, I saw Tris looking straight at Tori as if she knew her already. "Do you know her?" I asked Tris quietly, worry clear in my voice.

Nodding subtly, she started looking at the designs on the wall. "She administered my test."

Suddenly it all made sense. Tori knew about her results and had probably warned her to stay in Abnegation because it was safer than Dauntless. "I take it she didn't like your decision." I murmured casually admiring a rose design, ignoring the way Tris' head snapped in my direction.

"Excuse me?" her breathless voice gave her away, and she was lucky I wasn't someone else.

"Dauntless isn't exactly the safest place for people like us." I shrugged winking at her shocked face. "And you really need to work on your lying skills if you don't want the wrong people to find out."

"Who are these people, and why don't they like people like us?" She got closer to me, turning her body to face mine. Her eyes were wide and sparkling with a million questions.

"We'll talk about it, but not here, or now." I looked pointedly at the camera at the corner of the parlor. Her eyes flickered to it briefly before her shoulders slumped in relief. "Hey, we'll be fine. Just don't call attention onto yourself… more than normal." I winked at her, heading over to Tori with a bright smile.

"Ready for that tattoo?" She was gathering her tools stiffly, her eyes not looking up.

"Yeah I am." She motioned for me to take a seat. "Don't be too hard on her. It would have been harder to fit in in any other faction with that determination of hers." I murmured quietly, straddling the chair. She jerked as if she had been hit, and I sighed when her eyes shot to mine.

"You know?" She asked in disbelief, eyes furious as they looked up at Tris.

"Actually, I _am._ " I technically wasn't lying. Divergence was associated with pure genes, and I was pure according to my father's bullshit research.

"Who administered your test?" She hissed urgently. "How are you still alive?" Her face twisted painfully.

"My mother knew about my Divergence because she practiced a new dose of the serum on me and destroyed the results to protect me. She taught me how to hide it." The lie slipped smoothly from my lips. She looked at me for a moment longer, trying to determine if I was lying or not. I let out a long sigh, leaning my head on my arm. "I'd like it on my back, from top of my shoulders to the end of my back."

It was a few more silent seconds before she gestured for me to take my shirt off. I did so, holding it against my chest before unclipping my bra. I heard her shuffling around preparing a large pad with the design, and made myself comfortable. I let my right arm dangle, laying my chin on my left arm.

"She'll be okay you know." I murmured after she adjusted the pad over my back. "I'll help her." I said seriously.

"I don't want to see her get hurt." Her voiced sounded pained and I reached back to pat her knee.

"Have some faith in us." I teased trying to ease the mood. "Now no more depressing talk, let's focus on the amazing tattoo that you designed for me." I grinned, my eyes finding my friends across the room. Christina was getting tatted while Will was sitting by her head holding her hand and I couldn't help but smirk. Al and Tris were still looking over the other designs.

"You haven't even seen it yet." She laughed, smoothing it over. "It will hurt because of the pieces that run over your spine."

"Bring it on." I called over my shoulder. "And I have seen your work, Tori." I snorted. "I trust that this one won't disappoint."

Before she could reply, I heard heavy footsteps enter the shop, and the room quieted almost instantly. Raising an eyebrow, I turned my head to the side to see who it was. I nearly groaned out loud when I saw him. "I can never get a fucking break, man." I growled burying my face in my arm when I heard his steps get closer and closer.

"Tori, when are you going to be free?" His deep voice soothed me despite my hatred for him. It was low and rough but yet it flowed out so smoothly that it was calming.

"She's my only client at the moment, and it's a big one so she won't be done for another 40 minutes."

"What that long?" My head jerked up in surprise. I looked over at her in surprise.

"What did ya expect? Wham bam thank you ma'am?" She joked, her eyes twinkling in amusement.

"Well duh." I rolled my eyes, my lips twitching. She laughed lightly, turning to face Eric without the fear that most Dauntless members regarded him with.

"You willing to wait or you wanna reschedule?" I didn't look at him, but I felt his eyes burning me.

"I'll wait." And because my luck is just so wonderful, I heard him drag a chair over and plant himself in it. Looking up to my right, I saw him straddling the chair, watching me with a smirk on his face. "Initiate." He nodded at me, his eyes hard as steel.

"Boss man." I mimicked him. "Getting more ink?" I asked nonchalantly, my eyes trailing over the blocks on his heck and arms.

"Nah, I just thought I'd keep Tori here company." He said sarcastically and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I didn't even bother responding, instead just laid my head down again, but he obviously didn't take the hint that I was done with the conversation. Or then again, he probably didn't care "You were impressive out there." His tone put me on edge, because I knew he wasn't complimenting me, he was leading up to whatever he really wanted to say. "Too impressive for a Nose." And there it was.

"My father was the head of the department of Weaponry and Ammunition." I shrugged, telling him what I told Four because it wasn't a lie, so if he decided to follow up it, he'd see I wasn't lying. "Worked with him on a few on his projects, testing most of them out."

"Interesting." He hummed, and I didn't like the way he doubted me. He was focusing too much on me as it was, I didn't need him on my ass more than he already was.

"Lo!" My head snapped up to see Christina bounding over to me, slowing down when she saw Eric. Her face furrowing in confusion, eyes flashing over to me in question. 'I don't know' I mouthed to her, not being able to shrug in fear of messing up the progress of my tattoo. "Um how much longer to do got?"

I looked at Tori, and she got the hint that she should answer. "Twenty-five more minutes." I looked over at her to see her biting her lip, looking unsure.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to take Tris shopping and the shops close in like another hour." She murmured sheepishly.

"Hey go, I already suffered through a shopping session with you, it's only fair Tris does too." I joked, shooing her away.

"Really?" I shot her a look making her laugh. "Alright, alright! Show us your tattoo later when you get back!" I sent her a thumbs up, watching in amusement and she ran out of the parlor, dragging Tris after her.

"You're horrible." Tori muttered under her breath.

"She needs to come out of her shell a little more." I waved my head dismissingly. "She'll thank me later." I smirked thinking about her and a certain instructor of ours. It was quiet for the remainder of the time, and just as I as dozing off, Tori announced it was finished.

"Ready to see it?" She asked and I nodded, straightening in the chair, barely remember to grab my clothes to keep me from flashing the entire shop. She pulled a mirror in front of me and then another behind me, allowing me to see the large willow tree that ran from the tops of my shoulders down the right ride of my body. The branches branched out across my shoulders down to my shoulder blades with an owl perched on one of them. There was also a compass on my right shoulder blade, intertwined with the branches.

"I fucking love it." I murmured breathlessly. Movement from the corner of my eye reminded me that Eric was still here. I looked over at him to see his now dark blue eyes roaming over my back. "What ya think, boss?" I raised an eyebrow at him, a smirk playing on my lips.

He didn't look at me for a few minutes, his eyes scanning every inch of my skin before finally looking at me. His face was expressionless, but his eyes gave him away. "It suits you."

I turned my back to him, smirking wickedly at Tori who shook her head at me as she smeared salve over my tattoo. When she was done, I went to drop my top so I could fix my bra, but then remembered Eric was still here. "You mind?" I murmured looking at him from over my shoulder a loose strand of curly hair hanging in front of my eye.

"Not at all." He smirked at me, leaning back in his chair, hands folding back behind his head. I shrugged, dropping my shirt beside me, clipping my bra back on and fixing my girls before standing up. Turning to face Tori, I picked my shirt back up.

"I gotta sign for the points?" I asked casually, shrugging the top on, ignoring Eric's burning gaze. Instead focusing on the dauntless woman in front of her who simply waved me off.

"Forget it, and get out of here, I got work to do." She shooed me away, making me laugh as I turned and headed out. I felt his eye following me even as I left, torn between wanting to kill him and wanting to kiss him senseless. I let out a deep breath, pulling my hair out of its bun as I stalked towards the dorms, just wanting to sleep for the rest of my life.

I set the book cover as Lo's tattoo, i dont know if you'll see it or not but i hope so. It's so difficult to post chapters and pictures because they dont post right away and it takes like ten million tries.


	5. Chapter 5

**I apologize for the delay in this chapter, and for the shortness of it! But i am in the middle of my last few weeks of this semester and I have so much work to catch up with as well as studying for the last exams of the semester!**

 **I promise that i will try to get another chapter in within the next week but I cannot guarantee anything.**

 **But please enjoy this chapter!**

 **Chapter 5:**

The next day I woke up later, barely having enough time to check in with Michael and grab some food before we had to head to training. I caught Tris and Christina dragging themselves through the tunnels. I tossed them their muffins, having already scarfed down my own. It was amusing to watch them fumbling to catch them.

"How are you so awake this early." Christina muttered biting a piece of her muffin.

"Old habits." I shrugged and she rolled her eye, sticking her foot out to trip me. I easily jumped over her foot, rolling the sleeves of my jacket up higher. It was chilly all through the compound, but it got extremely hot during training, so I'd opted for a sports bra, black joggers and my jacket on top. Christina was dressed similarly, except her sweats pants were extremely baggy, and she had no jacket. Something I'm sure she was regretting considering she was hugging herself to keep warm. "What are we even doing today?" I was silently hoping that we were fighting today because I was dying to hit something.

"Four said something about knife throwing." Tris answered, and I couldn't help the smirk that graced my face. I couldn't help the little hum I let out, laughing when she sent me a look.

"Four said that, huh." I nudged her arm, finding her blush adorable. I was going to keep teasing her, but Al came in and saved her. His arm slung over her shoulders, startling her. She squirmed a bit from the physical contact, but she let him keep his arm there, which was an improvement from the first days.

Whenever Al had tried that on her she'd push him off, but now as uncomfortable as she was, she accepted it. When we entered the training room, I was relieved to see that only Four was there, because I didn't know how to face Eric after that slightly flirtatious encounter back at the tattoo parlor.

"Alright listen up!" Four's deep voice rang out through the training room. "Today we will be learning how to throw knives. We don't really spend too much time on this so the first half of training will consist of familiarizing yourself with throwing and then after lunch we will move on to fighting. We will be doing this for the next two days." He looked at each of us in the eye before continuing. "After those two days, you will fight against each other in matches set up by Eric and me." With my luck Eric might just set up a fight between him and I. And as hot as hat sounded, I doubted he would hold back. I let out a sigh, trying to focus on what Four was saying about the proper knife throwing technique, but I already knew all of this.

When he dismissed us to start throwing, I stood between Christina and Tris, with Will on Christina's other side and Al on Tris'. I was throwing knives lazily, not really properly aiming because I didn't wanna add Four to the list of people watching me. It had been a while after we had started throwing, and while Christina had hit the target only a few times, Tris had hit it every single time.

Al was the one worrying me because it didn't even look like he was trying at all. His knives were barely even reaching the target at this point, and I was worried Four was going to do something. When another one of his knives hit the floor, a loud voice I recognized well rang out. "That was pathetic." I hadn't even heard him come in, and that was a first for me.

I turned my head to see that Eric stood beside Al, who's face had turned redder than a tomato, legs shoulder length apart and hands linked behind his back. It was a casual stance, but the way he held himself indicated` that he was ready to strike at any moment.

"It slipped." Was Al's muttered response. My eyes flickered over to him for a second, wondering if he was as crazy as I was for answering back. Al looked like he was both frustrated and embarrassed for being called out. But it was only a matter of time with the way he was throwing. The first few tries had hit the targets but they never stuck, and had given up.

I looked over to see Eric's expression, and for a second he looked annoyed, but it was gone so fast I wasn't sure anymore. "So go get it."

"While everyone else is throwing?" Al looked incredulous. I let out a frustrated breath, letting my knife fly out of my hand and straight into the center of the target.

"Are you afraid?" Came Eric's cold response.

"Of getting hit by an airborne knife? Yes." My eyes slid shut, a sigh escaping my lips.

"Stop." Eric's voice boomed out, and one by one everyone stopped their practice. I cast a look over at Four to see him frowning in disapproval, but he didn't say anything. "Stand in front of the target." My eyes flashed over to Eric. He wasn't seriously about to make Al the target, was he? Al had the same expression as me, staring at him trying to determine if he was being serious or not. "Did I stutter?" Eric snapped, jerking his head towards the target. "Stand in front of the target, NOW!"

I bit my lip to stop myself from speaking as I watched Al slowly make his way over until he was finally in front of the dummy. He turned, visibly shaking, sweat coating his entire body, making the black shirt he was wearing sticking to him. Eric looked over at Four, nodding for him to grab his knives. Without a word, Four obeyed, his face expressionless.

From the corner of my eye I saw Tris' face. She looked like she was internally debating with herself about something. I frowned, watching her carefully, but when she took a step forward, towords Four, panic took over me.

"Tris no!" I hissed quietly, but she ignored me, speaking up despite my warning.

"Stop." All eyes landed on her, mine glaring directly into the back of her head. "Anyone can stand in front of a target; it doesn't prove anything."

"Oh really?" Eric looked extremely amused, a total contrast to Four's annoyed expression. "Then you can take his place." The dauntless leader's voice turned from amused too cold in seconds, and for a second I couldn't help but marvel at the control he possessed.

Tris didn't hesitate to walk over, passing past a relieved Al. She stood in front of the target, a picture of total ease, but I saw the slight trembling of her hands before she placed them behind her back. My head dropped in defeat, silently cursing her and myself before pushing my way to the front.

"What's the point of this?" I glared at Eric, ignoring Four's piercing gaze. "Placing us in front of a target won't suddenly make us experts in this. That's why we're _training_ , to get better."

He let out a humorless laugh, making my eyes narrow in mistrust. "You seemed to have gotten a hang of it." Eric pointed to my target, all my knives having stuck at different points. I shrugged, my teeth clenching in an effort to not curse the blonde man out. "Since you don't know how to keep your mouth shut, you throw them at the stiff." He motioned Four to back away. From the way Four's jaw clenched in response, I thought he'd protest, but instead he shot me a deadly look, handing me the knife he was holding. I had no doubt that if I screwed this up, I'd be facing him later – even though I had a sinking feeling I'd be facing him anyway.

I let out a breath as I took it, stepping up to take my stance. I faced Tris, sending her a cold look. I took aim, readying myself to throw when a cold voice broke through the silence. "I don't know who's stupider." I looked at him from the corner of my eye, not liking the cruel smile he sent my way. "The Stiff, or the Nose."

"Let me know when you find out." I replied, letting the knife fly out of my hand, hitting the board two inches from Tris' elbow. The second one I threw landed just beside her neck, and my heart was beating so fast I thought it would fly out of my chest. I had been so close to hitting her and I suddenly didn't want to do this anymore. I had never intentionally used a person as a target, if I ever had to shoot it had been in self-defense, and that was the only way I dealt with the guilt.

Breathing harder than before, I picked up two more knives, throwing them rapidly one after another, barely taking a moment to aim. The first sticking to her other side, and the other one above her head. I had no more knives, so I just kept my gaze on Tris, unwilling to look at Eric.

"Alright, that's enough, go to lunch." Four's voice cut through the thick silence.

Tris didn't hesitate to make her way over to me, an angry expression on her face. "I could have handled that! There was no reason for you to get involved."

Closing my eyes, I breathed in from my nose, holding it in for a second trying to calm myself before letting it out slowly. "I didn't have to." I said lowly, my eyes raising to meet hers, no doubt blazing with rage. I felt dangerous in that second, and it was because I risked my ass for this girl who could bring more suspicion about the Divergent if she wasn't careful. I could pass off as mouthy and ballsy only because I was supposedly an Erudite defect; they were known to be stuck up and smart mouths. "But I did because as far as Erudite knows, Divergent come from Abnegation mostly. Dauntless is the least suspected faction." I hissed, my eyes darting to Four who was looking at us from the corner of his eye as the rest of the class filed out. Eric was picking up the knives to place them back where they belonged. "If they find you out, they will start to suspect that more of us are hiding here too."

Her eyes were wide with apprehension, but I still saw the defiance shining in her eyes. "I can take care of myself." She snapped, her eyes narrowing to glare at me. "If you can get away with talking back to _Eric_ , then so can I. Because I'm not going to stand back and watch him terrorize our friends."

I felt myself deflate, and for a second I wondered why I was even bothering risking my life to save the rest of the Divergent, to overthrow Jeanine and my father's hold on this city. "Do whatever _you_ want… but think about the consequences to the rest of us." I lowered my voice when Four started making his way over to us.

Straightening, I started moving to the punching bags, but he stopped me. "What you both did was stupid."

"Tell me something I don't know." I muttered darkly, not looking at him, instead kept my gaze on the punching bag. I wanted him to know I was done with this conversation before it even started.

"You could have hurt her." He hissed, getting in my face. I bared my teeth at him, my mood not at all nice after Tris.

"As much as Eric wished it happened, it didn't." I snarled back, smirking when I saw the anger burning in his dark brown eyes. "So you can breathe easily now that your precious initiate is fine."

"You-" He started point his finger in my face, but Eric interrupted him. It seemed everyone was interrupting each other. And here I thought the most exciting thing about Dauntless initiation would be the fights between each other.

"Are you two heading to lunch yet or not?" He snapped, glaring at Four and Tris, earning himself glares from the two of them.

"They were just leaving." Four answered darkly. It was my turn to send him a glare. I wasn't planning on going to lunch. I wanted to punch the shit out of a punching bag.

"I was talking about you and the Stiff. I want a word with the Nose." With that he dismissed him, and if I wasn't so annoyed with them, I'd feel offended for them. Eric had absolutely no manners, and if he did he just didn't bother being nice.

Four glowered at us for another minute, before stalking off. Tris hesitated for a moment, but I didn't look at her, instead focused on Eric. I watched him clean each blade, waiting patiently for her to leave. When she did, I felt myself relax, even if only slightly.

"What is it?" My voice was low and husky, so I cleared my throat, but I didn't take my eyes off him.

"You need to watch yourself. At this rate you're going to lose your ranking for stupid reasons." He said causally as if we were old friends. I raised en eyebrow in disbelief. Eric was probably the most bipolar man on this planet, and I didn't know whether it was amusing or downright annoying.

"Then stop provoking me." I took my stance in front of the punching bag. I purposely stood slightly off from the proper stance. Eric didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon, so I couldn't go all out like I wanted to. It was frustrating as hell not being able to work out the way I used too. It be too suspicious if I did. Had I been a Dauntless born it would have been more believable. The only reason I hadn't been was because Dauntless was known for its high-tech surveillance cameras, it would have been hard to implant years of video footage of me. Erudite didn't bother with things such as cameras, their security systems much more sophisticated with their finger print locks and eye scanners to open restricted areas.

"I don't provoke you, initiate. You just don't know when to keep your mouth shut." He snapped. I heard the knives clatter but I didn't bother turning, instead started throwing punches at the bag, barely managing to make it sway. I had to take a couple deep breaths to stop myself to laying into it to get rid of the pent up frustrations.

"You just piss me off." I retorted after I'd gotten my control back, throwing some quick punches.

"Your stance is pissing me off." He murmured lowly from behind me. I tensed, biting my tongue to keep in the gasp of surprise. I hadn't even heard him come up this close to me.

"Bite me." I snapped, not stopping my little routine. Then suddenly his hands were on my hips, startling. I jumped, bringing my elbows down as I twisted around to hold him back. "Don't. Touch. Me." I bit out, glaring at him.

That seemed to be all I ever did around him. Glare. Growl. Fight. I'd always been short tempered, but Eric made it worse. And I had a feeling it had to do with my stupid attraction to him. Even now, being this close to him was messing with my head. He was tall, taller than I had first imagined, the top of my head barely making his shoulders.

"You're doing it wrong." He growled, glaring down at me. "You keep that up and you could break your wrist or fracture it. Then you'd be useless and drop in ranks lower than that mouth of yours could get you."

I raised an eyebrow at him, his husky voice catching me off guard. "So what if I break my wrist?" I shrugged, stepping back to bring some space between us, not able to stand the close proximity. "I'd be one less initiate you have to worry about."

"Because you're ranked 3rd. The only reason you're not first because of the points I docked for being a smartass." He answered, leaning back and crossing his arms. "And I was there when you handed Peter his ass, _without_ actually hitting him. I can only imagine what you could do if you were actually allowed a punch or two."

"Are you complimenting me?" I asked amused, barely holding back my laughter as I mimicked his stance. "Thought pigs would fly before I heard something positive come out of your mouth."

His eyes narrowed, glaring a me for a moment before turning me around by my waist. His hand settled on top of my stomach, his hand so big that the heel touched one side and his fingers brushed the other. I sucked in a large breath of air, body tensing under his burning touch.

"Hold your arms a little higher, you're leaving your face unprotected." He lifted my arms and I held them up in the position he wanted them, but they felt stiff. Probably because I couldn't relax with him pressed up against me. "Feet a little wider than shoulder length apart. Your smaller than most of the initiates, so keep tension here." His hands tightened on my abdomen. "Use your hips."

I nodded, pushing back into him, trying to make him catch the hint and get off of me. "Got it." I muttered back, body still stiff.

Instead of backing up, he got closer, leaning his head down so his lips brushed against my ear. "You need to loosen up."

"You need to back up." I snapped back, hitting him with my elbow. I felt my irritation spike up when she started chuckling, but he did back up.

"Nervous?" He teased, and for a second I was thrown off by the amused glint in his eyes. I eyed him warily, taking a half a step back slowly.

"Nervous? No." I breathed, watching him closely, feeling threatened and I had no idea why. He was relaxed, as relaxed as Eric could get. "Wary? Yes."

"What? Don't trust me?"

"Not at all." I shot back. He was grinning now, and I had to blink a couple times to get used to the sight. For the week I had known Eric, I had never seen him smile. And it was disconcerting. And distracting. He was incredibly handsome, but smiling like that made him even more so.

"Good." He replied before going back to the knives he had thrown onto one of the tables. He didn't so much as glance at me as he went about cleaning the blades and placing them in their casings.

Eric was beyond confusing and that made him more dangerous. I didn't know what he was playing at, but I knew that he was distracting me from my mission and that was not okay. I took a deep breath, before going back to the punching bag. This time I took the correct stance, since he had corrected me and it wouldn't look suspicious.

A while later, the other initiates started filing in. Christina walked over to me flashing me a small smile, Tris following behind her. She stepped forward instead of staying at Christina's side, holding out a muffin. It was chocolate with chocolate chips, the one I always grabbed for breakfast. I smiled at her, taking it and in taking it, accepting her silent apology.

Tris wasn't a bad person, and I didn't want to hate her. But she didn't know what dangers were lurking in the shadows. She may suspect them, but she wasn't prepared for it. No was, if truth be told. And I dreaded the moment when I decided to tell her the truth because so far she was my only ally in the midst of everything. There was no way for me to know who else to trust. Not without Michael, who had the advantage of observing us all.


	6. Chapter 6

**Alright guys, I got this chapter in earlier than i thought i would, but it's a slow chapter, mostly a filler.**

 **Hope you guys are enjoying this story!**

 **I know Lo comes off as reckless but that's how i want her to be. She's still a teenager herself, she's 18 as i changed the age of initiation to 18. This means Eric and Four are 20.**

 **Lo was never trained to be a secret agent, her father wanted her to follow in her footsteps but as we can see she isn't. She's more independent and wants to do her own thing. And right now her own thing is trying to be a hero and save Chicago from her insane father.**

 **The plot might be different from the book because I'm not trying to follow the story line exactly. So please bare with me.**

 **Chapter 6**

Training had been brutal for the next two days, even for me. But I was still in better shape than the rest of them. Tris being the one struggling the most; she was tall but she was thin with almost no muscle. I'd been paired up with her for training and I barely felt her punches, having already been used to fighting men the size of Eric; bigger even.

"You won't know who you're fighting until tomorrow. The board will be up tomorrow morning with the list of those that will be fighting." Eric voice rang out through the room, eyeing each of us with his signature cruel smirk.

"For this first fight you will be fighting someone who we deem to be of equal strength with you." Four called out after Eric was done. "After that we will see where you stand and pair you up with someone stronger."

"Because in real life, you will face an opponent that is twice your size. The only reason we are letting you off easy this first time is for us to measure your strength." Eric added after him, looking annoyed with the idea. I bet if it were up to him we'd each be facing off the dauntless born, hell maybe even fully trained dauntless members.

I barely managed to resist rolling my eyes, and instead settled for crossing my arms over my chest. I'd done good at avoiding Eric after the whole him touching me incident, and I wasn't about to call attention to myself now. So I pretended to be fully attentive, as Four and Eric chatted a bit more about how tomorrow was going to go down. At one point, I found myself examining the crowd of initiates wondering who I would be paired with. There were 10 of us, and I knew close to nothing about Edward, Myra and the Amity boy Gabriel. The only thing I knew about them was their rankings. Edward was doing great, standing at the number one spot, but his girlfriend was literally in last place, with Gabriel one spot ahead.

I had been so focused sizing everyone up, that I hadn't even noticed that we had been dismissed until Christina got hold of my arm. "Come on let's go! I want to get an outfit for tonight!"

"What? Another one? We just went shopping a few days ago." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but allowed her to drag me out of the training room and towards our dorm.

"Yeah we did but we need something hot to go to the club tonight." Her eyes twinkled mischievously and I hesitated for a second. I looked over questioningly at Tris, who simply shook her head as if she couldn't deal either.

I wasn't opposed to a little fun but I didn't understand _why_ tonight, when we had a rough day tomorrow with our trainers from hell. "You do realize we have to fight tomorrow right?"

"Yeah which is exactly why we should go tonight." She said confidently, shoving me into the dorm. I blinked at her, waiting for her to elaborate while I gathered my things for a shower. She let out an exasperated sigh, before giving me one of her glares. "Tomorrow there is a high possibility my beautiful face will be damaged in some way, and I'd like to show up to my first night out in Dauntless looking presentable." Tris rolled her eyes at this but her eyes were lit up with amusement.

I made a noise of agreement, knowing that I'd have to take a couple hits tomorrow, and for the millionth time cursed the fact that I'd have to hold back. I took a shower, enjoying the fact that the rest of the initiates were out and about, exploring as they majority had taken too after training. I dressed in high waist ripped skinny jeans and a thin black racer cropped top, paired with my trusty combat boots. I left my wet hair down, as we made our way to the shops.

Christina made it her goal to squeeze Tris in the most revealing dress she could find, and I had to admit it was beyond amusing. Sadly, Tris still hasn't gotten over her old Abnegation enough to allow this. She was barely even allowing us to enter the dressing room to see how she looked, which was awkward by the way. She was tall and slim with soft curves, which clashed with the tiny and super tight dresses. Having enough of Christina's torture, Tris declared she wasn't going out with us. I snorted out a laugh, when Chris' expression turned dark, and was staring down at the poor girl.

"Alright, ignore whatever Chris gave you to try on." I straightened from my perch against a rack, walking over to a dress that I had seen and had considered before dismissing. It was a long form fitting dress, that would have ended at my calves if I had worn it, but would most likely reach right above Tris' knee. It was decent compared to Chris' choices, but the back would most likely make her uncomfortable. "It's backless, but your hair would cover the majority of it." I murmured quietly, handing her the dress. It was a scoop neckline with spaghetti straps, and backless.

"It's better than what Christina had planned for me." She muttered taking the dress and paying for it before our tiny friend could protest. I laughed, following them out of the store, but hesitated when I watched them heading towards the tattoo parlor.

"Hey, I'll meet you guys for dinner, I feel like taking a walk." I said making myself sound exhausted. "Maybe even take a nap so I'll be ready for tonight."

Chris agreed without even blinking, but I caught Tris hesitating. I sent her a reassuring smile, spinning on my heels and leaving before she could offer to come with me. There were things that I needed to do, that didn't include them, and I had wasted enough time, trying to learn the best times to wander around without rising suspicion.

I couldn't go exploring in the middle of the night because that was when Dauntless was most alive. Instead I had to settled for the second best time which was after training, because that was when most initiates went exploring. If I got caught somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, I could put it on the fact that I was lost.

Over the past few days, I'd been reporting to Michael in the morning, getting short, curt responses with new pieces of information each day. So far all I knew was that Erudite was coming to Dauntless every few days, bringing in boxes. With what? We weren't sure yet. At least _I_ wasn't sure yet.

My stop today would be the control room, how I'd get in was still unknown. But I was hoping I could run into Four and from their I'd figure out the rest. The most important task right now was to see where all the cameras were. Because so far my little alcove was the only one that I'd made sure had no cameras that could spot me, and every day I discovered more and more in different places.

I strolled down the hall, hands in my pockets, eyes taking everything in. I memorized the hallways I was in and different routes to different places. It didn't take me long to find the Four, he was stepping out from the training room, probably just having finished cleaning up.

"Did ya come here to practice some more?" His question caught me off guard for a second, and I barely held myself back from laughing.

"Im sorry, was that your subtle way of telling me I suck and need to work harder?" I raised an eyebrow at him, a smile playing on my lips. After the whole knife incident that involved Tris and I, he'd been colder but after realizing I was trying to get the heat off Tris he warmed back up. Well as much as a guy like Four could.

He let out a low chuckle, and I couldn't help but admire him for a second. He was attractive, if a different way than Eric was; because I still thought Eric was hotter. "No, I was actually shocked because I _know_ you don't need to practice more." He eyed me for a minute, analyzing me in his silent way, and I had to stop myself from squirming nervously. His dark brown eyes made me feel as if he could see right through me. "You'd be ranked first if you hadn't antagonized Eric as much as you did."

I shrugged, honestly not caring if I finished first. I knew for a fact that the top two were considered for leadership positions. I wasn't interested in leading Dauntless, because I was too busy trying to come up with a plan to _save all_ the factions. "I don't want to be first."

His eyebrows furrowed, head tilting in confusion. "You don't?" He sounded both amused and like he couldn't believe what I was saying. It's probably the first time he's heard an initiate say something like that, especially if they had the skills to be the best. I didn't flaunt my skills like Peter did because I know I'm good, and I don't need to gloat.

"No, I know for a fact that top two are considered for leadership, and I'm not interested." I shrugged again, looking away from him, unable to take his intense stare. "And I also know you've been getting heat from Max because he wants you to take up his offer for leadership." I saw him tense from the corner of my eye. "And I don't need that. I just want a normal job in Intelligence, like you." I looked back at him.

"You wanna sit in front of a computer all day?" He asked amused, throwing back at me what I had said to him the first day. I let out a laugh, a real one.

"Yeah, why not?" I chuckled. "Easy, calm, and I get to protect those I care about." I looked over at him this time, my smile getting smaller as I hesitated for a moment. "What's it like? Would I need to get trained for it or something?" I asked trying to seem eager and interested.

His eyes narrowed on me, but not in a menacing way, more like he was trying to see if I was worthy or not. "How good are you with computers?"

"I can hold my own." I answered immediately, trying to seem overly eager. Intelligence wasn't a job I'd have picked if I had a choice, but I needed to get into that room to see where cameras are. I also needed to see what type of system I was going to be working with. It be useless if I get a chance to hack the system but couldn't because I had no idea how to work it.

"Then follow me." He turned and walked away without another word. Smiling to myself, I jogged to catch up with him. Once I was by his side again, I slowed down, matching my pace with his.

We didn't speak, and I didn't mind. I knew that Four wasn't much of a speaker. It wasn't awkward either but I couldn't help but wonder how he and Tris worked. I knew they were both from Abnegation, so that had to make things ever more awkward. My eyes shifted to look at him from the corner of my eye, observing his confident stride, and the way he held himself. Then I thought back to the confidence Tris was gaining, and figured they were both a good match. They'd obviously would show affection in public, but that didn't mean that they couldn't be in a relationship.

I hadn't even realized that he had caught me staring until the corner of his mouth tilted up in a smirk. "See something you like?" He asked, turning his head to look at me.

I let out another loud laugh, finding myself relaxing. "Even if I did, I respect Tris too much to even think about it." I answered honestly. The red tinge in his face almost had me bursting out in giggles. "Relax, it's not that obvious. I'm just observant." I nudged his shoulder with mine. "Plus," I glanced at him from the corner of my eye. "I ship it."

"Shut up." He muttered, but there was a small smile on his still red face. I couldn't help the giggle that slipped, placing my hand on my mouth to stop the rest. Shaking his head, he sped up a little, reaching for a large metal door.

He slid it open, almost effortlessly, gesturing for me to go in first. I did, my eyes trying to take everything in, as I stepped forward into the room. It was large, with screens showing almost every inch of Dauntless. It wasn't hard to find where the blind spots were because I had already mapped out most of the compound in my head.

"What do you think?" Four's voice came from somewhere behind me.

"I think this is crazy." I murmured, my eyes finding a screen where I could see my brother reading a large book somewhere in the city. From the angle of another camera I saw that he was outside of Erudite, studying for whatever Erudite's initiation consisted of. "Jesus, don't I miss you, dork." I mumbled, stepping closer to the screen, ignoring the stranger in the seat a few feet away from me.

"Is that your brother?" I turned to meet Four's curious gaze.

I smiled, looking back at the screen, reaching out to touch it, my fingers running over Forrest. "Yeah. My twin brother." I let out the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. "He's older than me by 10 minutes, but he liked to think he was older by years." It took a moment for me to realize what I said, straightening my back so suddenly, I startled Four. "I'm sorry, I know we take Faction before Blood seriously, here at Dauntless." I said almost robotically.

"Lo," My eyes shifted to Four, but I didn't move my head to face him. "It's okay to miss him, you've only been here two weeks." I nodded stiffly, another screen catching my attention.

"What's Erudite doing here?" I murmured, my posture relaxing slightly, as I neared the screen. Watching as a few men in the bright blue that represented Erudite, carried boxes into a room. I didn't recognize the hallway, but I knew that I had to find it soon. I also had to figure out how I was going to get there and into the room without anyone knowing. The camera was directly across from the door.

"I don't know, but I'd like to find out." Four's voice lowered significantly. I looked at him then, noticing the way his jaw was clenched.

"Don't like them do you?" I asked quietly.

"More like I don't trust them." He answered back, backing away from the screen. "So this is what your life would consist of if you chose a job in Intelligence."

"Looks like fun." I answered, allowing him to change the subject. My mind reeling, wondering if I could trust Four.

For a second I almost did, but I held back. Michael had finally managed to explain that I was to expect Forrest while playing Capture the flag. How they were going to manage that, I had no idea, but I hopped it wouldn't be too late by then.

After that he gave me a small tour of the place, pointing out different jobs and what I would most likely be doing if I chose to work here. He also gave me a run down on the operating system and I almost kissed him when he taught me how to work it. Once the tour was done, he sent me on my way, and I managed to squeeze in a nap before dinner.

"I really hate you." I muttered, shoving my curls out of my face as I sent a tired glare at a chirpy Christina.

"I love you too." She replied with her mouth full. "You had a good two hours to nap, I don't understand why you're so tired."

"Because I ran into Four and I asked him about a job in Intelligence." I shrugged. Tris perked up at the mention of Four, and I couldn't help but send her a knowing smirk. She turned even redder when I sent her a wink.

"Why are you looking at a job there when you could have a higher position with your ranking?" Will asked looking confused.

"Because I'm not really interested in being one of them." I nodded my head to indicate to Eric, Max and the three other people that made up the Dauntless Leaders. "I'd rather stab myself that spend the majority of my time with them and being an ass."

"They all are something." Al agreed taking a huge bite of his burger. The rest of them started talking some more, mostly about the party tonight, but I couldn't help but wonder what the leaders were chatting about. Eric look annoyed, Max looked serious- more so than usual- and the other three had somber expressions.

"I'm going to get cake; anyone want?" I said suddenly, not caring if I interrupted them in the middle of their conversation.

"Yes please!" Al said eagerly, mouth full of chewed up food. I wrinkled my nose at him, throwing a roll at his head as I stood. I casually made my way up to the table of desserts conveniently located behind the table of the leaders. Eric and Max were facing the dessert table, so I had to be careful. They were both extremely observant, and I didn't want them calling me out for snooping.

Once I reached the table, I leaned back, pretending to look at the different array of desserts in front of me, trying to listen to what they were saying. It was incredibly hard to hear anything with the roaring noise of loud conversations and laughter from Dauntless members all around the room. I did catch a few words that peeked my interest; "Jeanine", "Divergent problem", "Last day of initiation". The last three words making my heart drop. I was running out of time. Stage 1 of initiation was going to be over in a month and a half, that wasn't nearly enough time to prepare. Feeling eyes on me, I straightened, reaching for the cake almost robotically.

Right as I reached for a plate, a large body slammed into me, sending both of us straight to the floor. A startled yelp escaped from me, as I fell throwing my hands out to break my fall. A large body landed next to me on his back, groaning from the impact. "That hurt." He muttered, rubbing his hand over the back of his head where he must have hit his head.

"No shit Sherlock." I muttered, pushing myself up onto my knees. "Did you not see me standing there?" I asked sarcastically, looking over to meet warm brown eyes. He was extremely good looking, and when he sent me a sheepish smile, I couldn't help but admire how the white of his teeth stuck out against his bronze skin.

"Sorry, I was trying to run away from that demon." He pointed over to a girl with a shaved head stood, in front of us, her hands on her hips and a deadly glare on her face.

"Uriah, causing trouble as always." She snapped, cracking her knuckles, the glare seeming to intensify with each passing second. I simply raised an eyebrow at her, turning to look at an amused Uriah.

"Yup, you know me, and now look at what I've done." He said somberly, with a straight face, looking at me with a sad expression, but the twinkle in his eyes gave him away. "I've gone and hurt this beauty. God how will she ever walk!" I almost burst out laughing at the over exaggerated act.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise, an amused smile making its way onto my face. "Excuse me?"

"Yes, I know princess, it hurts. I apologize for hurting you, but don't worry I'll make sure you get your ankle looked at." He grinned and for a second I was dazed. I sent him a shy smile, tilting my head to the side as I sat back.

"Okay." I murmured before looking away, feeling a stupid blush make its way onto my face. Almost immediately I made eye contact with Eric, and just barely managed not to flinch. His eyes were almost completely dark as he glared at Uriah and me.

I blinked, confused as to why he was so mad. I had been the one run over, not him. I opened my mouth to snap at him but a startled gasp came out instead when I was suddenly picked up. My hands immediately went around Uriah's neck as he held me in his arms. "Well, my lovely Lynn, I'll catch up with you tonight!" And with that he was carrying me out of the room, all eyes on us.

"I hate you!" I groaned burying my face in his neck the minute I felt the blush take over. "Do you know how much it takes to make me blush!" I hissed, peeking up at him.

"Sorry, Princess, but I didn't want to face Lynn's wrath. I'm still recovering from the last ass whooping." He joked sending me a cheeky grin.

"I have a name you know." I muttered, settling into him. Despite just meeting him five minutes ago- quite literally- I felt comfortable around him. He gave off that boyish persona that made it impossible not to like and be comfortable with him.

"And I don't know it?" He gasped dramatically. "We've known each other all of 5 minutes and I still don't know your name?!" I couldn't help the laughter that followed his little dramatic moment.

"My name's Lo." I said between giggles. "Are you an initiate too?" I asked after I had recovered from the laugh attack.

"Yes I am. Ranked first amongst the dauntless born." He stated proudly. "What about you?"

"Ranked 3rd." I answered easily, motioning for him to put me down. He did so, and I immediately felt the difference in height. He was a good head taller than me. "But according to Four I'd be ranked higher if it wasn't for the back talk." I added off handedly as we made our way to the dorms.

"You talk back to Four? And he still gave you a 3rd rank? He must like you." He laughed, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe it.

"I don't talk to Four." I answered with a crooked grin. "I talk back to _Eric_."

His eyes practically popped out of his skull as he almost dropped me. "And you're still alive?!" I laughed again.

"Please, I'm not scared of him." I rolled my eyes. It was true, Eric didn't scare me. What scared me was my body's reaction to him. When he had touched me, I honestly had to control myself from jumping his bones.

"You, princess, are one brave woman." I rolled my eyes, shoving him playfully.

"Thanks to you I didn't get my chocolate cake." I whined. Although I had used it as an excuse to listen in to the leaders' conversation, I was actually looking forward to it. Dauntless cake was delicious, and I was afraid I might be a little obsessed.

"I will personally bring you my own slice for saving me from that she devil." He placed his hand over his heart.

I let out a giggle at his comment, but stopped to lean against the wall to examine him. "Why were you running away from her?"

"So I was trying to prank my older brother, Zeke, but she ended getting in the middle of it." He rubbed the back of his neck. "That was yesterday and I had managed to hide form her since then but today she ambushed me."

"Don't you guys sleep in the same dorms?" I questioned, confused as to how she couldn't find him in the dorms. They were big but there wasn't enough places to hide.

"I crashed at my brother's place." He smiled sheepishly and I couldn't help but chuckle. He was funny, in a boyish way. I could see myself and him being great friends.

"There you are!" Christina's voice echoed through the hallway, making me wince at how loud she was. I turned down the hall to see her rushing towards us with Tris, Al and Will behind her. "Are you okay?! How's your ankle?!"

"I'm fine." I rolled my eyes waving her away. "Uriah here just wanted me to save him from a girl half his size because he was a little scared." I teased, smiling up at him when he sent me a glare.

"I was not afraid." He cried indignantly. "I ran out of self-preservation!" I wasn't the only one who laughed at his expense.

"Thank goodness! I thought you weren't going to be able to go out still!" Chris sighed in relief, grabbing hold of my arm and pulling me to her side. "Do you want to come with us? You can bring your friends, the more the merrier!"

"Sure, I'll even take you guys to the best club here in Dauntless." He smirked proudly, slowly backing away. "I'll meet you three down in the pit in what? Two hours?" We all called out our agreement, before I was dragged back into the dorms.


	7. Chapter 7

**Yes I managed to get another chapter in tonight! :) i hope you guys enjoy this little treat, since I'm not entirely sure when the next time i will be able to post will be.**

 **Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! I really am glad you guys are enjoying the story!**

 **Chapter 7:**

When we agreed to meet up in two hours, I didn't think Christina would actually take the two hours to get ready. She practically threw Tris and I into the showers, which was what took the least amount of time since my hair was still slightly wet from my earlier shower. After we were done, the boys went in and did their thing while we got ready.

Since Christina had more faith in me than Tris to get ready, she left me alone while she pestered her. I couldn't help but watch them, slightly amused at how much fight Tris was putting up with the makeup. I laughed as I slipped my own dress on, a black backless dress, with a cut out front and long sleeves. I couldn't wear a bra with it, instead these little sticky cups over my boobs. It ended a couple inches under my butt so I paired it with black over the knee stiletto boots. I wasn't a big fan of make up so I just outlined my eyes with eyeliner and some maroon lipstick, and tousled my hair before deciding to save Tris from our crazy friend.

"Alright, alright, I got this, you go get dressed Chris." I shooed her away, as I stepped in front of Tris, lifting her chin up so I could do her eyeliner. "I'm just going to do this; you don't need to cake on makeup. Your skin is flawless." I winked, smirking when she let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." She murmured, examining my appearance, and blushing slightly at the amount of skin I was showing. "You look…"

"Amazing?" I teased, as I finished up and slipped her hair out of its pony tail. "Yeah I know, it's a lot of skin but it's less than what other Dauntless woman flaunt." I ran a brush through her straight, light brown hair.

"But there's going to be a lot of drunk guys, aren't you worried about that?" She blushed even harder, having already heard a decent amount of unnecessary comments thrown my way from Peter and Drew whenever I get dressed for bed. I had thought that my threat had been enough to keep him away from me. I mean he did keep his distance, but it didn't stop the inappropriate comments.

"I can handle myself." I reassured her. "Plus I'm not going to get drunk tonight." It was true, I wasn't planning on getting drunk. She nodded even though she didn't look convinced, instead stayed quiet as I took two sections of hair from the front to make intricate braids that I pulled back and tied together. I stepped back admiring my work with a pleased smile, but it disappeared when I saw the frown on her face.

"You know we never had that talk." Tris murmured before I could ask her what was wrong. I was confused for a second, until I realized what she must be talking about. I remembered I told her at the tattoo parlor we'd talk about it another time.

"We will, when I know it's safe." I answered. I'd been here almost a month and I was impatiently waiting for the night of capture the flag. I needed confirmation on who I could trust. Because I wasn't going to be able to do this by myself. Dauntless had so much security, that there was no way I was going to be able to sneak in anywhere.

"And when will that be?" She asked me, only slightly annoyed. I let out a sigh as I settled in beside her, mindful of keeping my back to the camera located at the entrance of the dorms.

"I don't know Tris. Honestly there's a lot I want to tell you but I need to make sure who I can trust. And trust _me_ when I say that this is something you can trust to just anyone. There are a lot of people around here that would hand you over to the ones that want us dead." I said as seriously as possible.

She stared at me for a moment longer, before she determined I wasn't lying. Tris nodded slowly, but she had an equally serious expression on her face. "Just promise me to let me help you."

"I promise." Not sure if I was telling the truth or not. I wouldn't let her risk her life because she's become a good friend to me, and I'd rather do this by myself than allow her to get hurt or worse, die.

"Alright, I'm ready!" Christina shouted, making us both jump. I turned to see her dressed in a short, tight red dress and sky high black heels. The top part was styled like a bra-let so it made her boobs look great.

"Well aren't you ready to break hearts tonight." I whistled, before smirking at Will who was now fully dressed and couldn't take his eyes off her.

Christina laughed, before linking her arm with Will and walking out of the dorms. Tris and I followed, and even with my heels I was nowhere near as tall as her, barely reaching her neck. She wasn't even wearing heels, having barely won that argument against Christina. Al was next to her and he kept sneaking glances at her, and that made my heart hurt for him. It was clear that Tris wasn't remotely interested in him, but yet he didn't seem to notice.

"Oh God." Tris muttered, and I looked up in time to see her duck her head, her ears turning pink. My lips quirked up on one side, mildly amused before I looked over to what made her get so nervous.

I let out an excited squeal, grabbing hold of her arm with barely contained excitement. Four was staring intensely at her, not even paying attention to whatever the person in front of him was saying. But my excitement died when the person turned around and my eyes locked with icy eyes. Eric held my gaze for a moment longer before they drifted down to give me a once over, his eyes slowly getting darker the longer he examined me. I felt every inch of me slowly grow hotter and unbothered, my breathing speeding up slightly.

I wanted to scream out in frustration, annoyed with my bodies reaction to him. Eric was working with Jeanine to hunt down innocent people. He's already killed enough innocent people that he's probably already lost count. He's a complete asshole and yet here I am reacting to him doing something as simple as checking me out. I couldn't explain why or when I started feeling this.

"Um is Eric checking you out?" Tris squeaked form besides me, snapping me out of it. I blinked, locking eyes with Eric again before I felt them widening. I spun on my heels to face the hallway Christina, Will and Al were already halfway down.

"No! Of course not! Don't be ridiculous!" I exclaimed, my voice high then it usually was. Tris' eyebrows shot up, surprised. _Yeah, that makes two of us girl_ , I couldn't help but think bitterly, using the hold I had on her to drag her after me.

We managed to make catch up with the rest by the time we reached the Pit. We looked around for a few minutes before we caught sight of Uriah getting on top of a table. He started waving wildly at us. Without turning to look back at the rest of my friends, I hauled Tris with me towards where Uriah was, two girls next to him. I noticed that the girl whom he had been running from, Lynn, was one of the two girls. She had her arms wrapped around the other girl, a short friendly looking blonde. Once I got closer I noticed the bruise on Uriah's jaw.

"Your work I presume?" I asked Lynn once I was close enough. She smirked, looking extremely proud while the girl in her arms elbowed her.

"Indeed." She laughed digging her fingers into the other girl's side. "I'm Lynn, and this is Marlene. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself because I was too busy trying to murder this dumbass." She glared at him.

I smiled, motioning to my friends who were behind me. "I'm Lo, this is Tris, Christina, Will, and Al." We chatted for a bit, laughing as Uriah told the story of why Lynn was trying to murder him, and then about the club we were heading to tonight. Apparently Uriah's brother, Zeke, owned it and had just opened it last year.

Together, the lot of us headed out laughing and messing around as we did. It was refreshing to see how well we all got along and I could honestly see us all being close friends long after initiation. The thought had me sobering up from my laughter pretty quick. A war was brewing, with Jeanine as the mastermind, and I had until the end of initiation to come up with a plan. After that, I'd probably be heading back outside the wall with Forrest to deal with the aftermath of our rebellion. Shit I still wasn't even sure how I was going to explain all of this to the people we did trust to help us. I let out a sigh, no longer feeling up to partying.

"Hey you okay?" Tris' soft voice asked me.

I looked up at her and managed to throw her a smile. "Yeah, I will be." I hope so.

Two hours later and they were all wasted, with the exception of Tris. Christina and Will were grinding against each other somewhere on the dancefloor, Lynn had Marlene pinned up against a wall making out and Al was trying to convince Tris to dance with him. It was amusing only because he was slurring his words so bad and he could barely stand up straight. I giggled, leaning heavily against Tris trying to seem as if I was tipsy. Christina had been shoving cup after cup of alcohol at me, curtesy of Zeke who we met upon arriving, and I just went with it. I didn't drink all of them, but I had a couple.

It had been fun the first hour before they all got drunk. Christina and I had been able to convince Tris to dance with us. When Will cut in to dance with Chris, Tris excused herself and I was about to start whining about losing my dance buddy when Uriah had grabbed me and pulled me against him with a flirty smile. I had returned it and danced with him the majority of the night, until he started swaying so much he almost fell over. I had just sent him away with Zeke when Al fell onto Tris' lap, half unconscious.

"Hey, maybe we should get you to bed." Tris suggested, allowing Al to swing an arm over her shoulder. "You coming?" She looked over her shoulder at me, and even though she posed it as a question, I knew it wasn't.

I smiled cheekily at her. "Yes mommy." I sang, standing up easily and making my way over to help her. She rolled her eyes, but I could see the smile playing at her lips.

We carried him all the way from the club to the floor where our dorm was, but I paused when I caught a flash of blue. I sped up a bit, peeking into the corridor as we past it. My heart skipped a beat when I caught sight of Forrest. He was scrolling through a tablet, standing beside Max and Jeanine. I guess he must have felt my gaze, because he looked up. His lips parted in surprise and he unconsciously took a step forward but I shook my head stopped in his tracks, looking over his shoulder to see if Jeanine and Max had noticed his mistake. They didn't. They were too busy talking, and I watched as he relaxes. I loosened my grip on Al, purposely, catching Tris off guard as Al slumped to the floor.

She immediately kneeled beside him to check on him, and I took the time to sign to my brother to meet me in five minutes. At his nod, I quickly reached down to help Tris, easily pulling Al up and continuing our journey to the dorms.

Once Al was settled into his bed, I turned to head out the dorms. "Where are you going?" I turned to Tris, who was removing Al's shoes.

"I need to clear my head. I swear I'm fine, but I need some air." I smiled reassuringly. "I'll be back before the others, I promise." She hesitated for a second, looking over at Al as he started to groan about wanting to throw up. She finally nodded, before scurrying for something where Al could empty his stomach.

I didn't wait for her to change her mind, instead rushed out heading back towards where had last seen Forrest. I was almost there when a hand snaked out of the shadows to grab me. I turned to attack only to have my arm restrained and shoved against the wall. My jaw clenched as I looked up, only to slump against the wall in relief.

"You scared me!" I hissed lowly, shoving Forrest off of me. His hair was shorter, still slightly curly, but not as long as he had it back at the compound.

"I'm sorry." He didn't sound or look sorry. He was smiling so hard it must hurt his face, and I suddenly couldn't control the urge to throw my arms around him.

"I thought I had to wait until capture the flag to see you! I got Michael's message." I mumbled into his chest.

"That was the plan until Jeanine changed her plans." I felt his shoulder's sag in defeat. "She has all the leaders and their loyal dogs on her side, and their planning on injecting every single member of Dauntless with some serum after initiation. It's supposed to allow her full control over them."

"What?!" I hissed, pulling away from him. As hard as it was to believe, it made sense. She wanted to hunt down the divergent, and she needed an army. Who better than Dauntless? We were the warrior faction, as Max had so nicely put it in his speech during our first dinner.

"That's not the worst part. She's planning on attacking Abnegation under the guise that they are hiding the Divergents." He leaned his head back against the wall. "She's actually looking for the video, the one of Edith Prior. She thinks it's proof about how Divergents are a danger to society."

"What are we going to do?" I asked seriously. "Who can I trust here? I can't even get into the goddamn control room, the security in here is worse than we thought. But I managed to get Four to tell me what kind of system it is and how to work it."

"Good, send the details to Michael, I can hack it from Erudite since I already have high clearance." I raised an eyebrow at that.

"How did you managed to become Jeanine's right hand man?" I leaned back on my right leg, arms crossed as I waited for his response.

"Well technically Eric is her right hand man." He scratched the back of his neck. "She pulled a few strings in order for him to become a Dauntless leader and help her find Divergents. But after seeing our scores, she picked Caleb and I to shadow her."

"And why isn't Caleb here with you?" He opened his mouth to answer but we heard footsteps approaching. I let out a low curse, peeking around the bend to check if the coast was clear before shoving Forrest out.

"What the hell Willow?!" He hissed quietly, as I stumbled out a goofy smile on my face.

"Play along." I whispered back before letting out an obnoxiously loud laugh when the footsteps became louder.

"I missed you so much big brother!" I slurred my words, throwing my arms around his neck. Forrest froze, his hands in the air, unsure as to what to do. I laughed even harder and this time it was for real. "Boyce, you have nooooooo idea what I've been through." I whined, noticing the footsteps stopped somewhere behind me.

"Um." I looked up at him to see him staring at whoever it was with wide eyes. "Louise, I think you should head to bed now." He looked down at me with a smirk, his eyes sparkling with amusement. Oh how much I had missed him, I thought sinking more into him.

"NOOOOO!" I shouted hugging him tighter. "I have to tell you sooooo much! Like how horrible that big grouch Eric is!" This time his eyes widened to the point where I laughed again, taking it as a sign that the person that had run into us was Eric. "What's with that face?" I giggled poking his cheek.

"Lo, you need to get to bed and shut up." He hissed, pulling my arms from around him.

"Yes, _Lo_ ," Eric's deep voice spat out my name as if it burned just to say it. "you need to get to bed, you're past curfew."

I turned quickly, tripping over my feet and onto Forrest's chest. I made my eyes widen as I pointed at Eric. "Boyce, Boyce." I pulled on the sleeve of his blue suit jacket. "That's him, that's the grouch." I nearly flinched at how childish I sounded, but I had to get Forrest out of this without raising any suspicion.

I watched closely as Eric's glower deepened as he stalked closer to us. I had to crane my head back to be able to look at his face because he was just that tall. "You're so tall." I whispered with fake awe. I turned to look at Boyce. "Why aren't you that tall?"

Eric ignored me and instead focused on my brother behind me. "What are you doing out here? And why are you with her?"

Forrest looked cool and collected, a look I'd seen on a couple of Erudite before. "I ran into her while I was trying to make my way out of the compound to get something for Jeanine. I didn't know she was," He looked down at me with an amused smile and I sent him my own goofy one. "intoxicated." He finished, looking back up to Eric. "I wasn't aware that Dauntless allowed their initiates to drink freely during initiation.

"Ohhhh he told youuu." I sang, giggling up at Eric. I knew Forrest was provoking Eric, and I wasn't really in the mood to be the referee to their little macho man fight.

"Quiet initiate." He snarled at me, before glaring up at my brother. "They aren't allowed, but it seems that your sister and her friends can never follow the rules."

"What?! I can so follow the rules." I slurred, stepping up to poke my finger against Eric's chest. I paused, watching my finger poke him a couple more times before I looked at him with a confused expression on my face. "Are you made of rock?" I tilted my head to the side.

Eric closed his eyes while he let out a long breath. It was a moment longer before he opened them again. "Go down the hall I came from and turn at the first right. Jeanine's waiting for you so you can head back to Erudite."

"What about Louise?" I felt Forrest's hand land on my arm, pulling me back slightly. I stumbled back a step, but Eric's hand closed around my arm and yanked me towards him. I fell face first into his chest, and I'd be lying if I didn't enjoy being pressed up against him.

"I'll take care of her."

"Are you going bye bye now?" I pulled back to look at my twin, a pout on my lips.

"Yeah, Lo, I'm going bye bye now." He smiled sadly at me, opening his arms slightly. I launched myself into his arms, holding him tight for a few seconds before he pushed me back towards Eric. "Kick ass Lo." He winked and me and then he was gone.

I turned to glare at Eric, only to find him already glaring at me. "You made him go away!" I whined, crossing my arms across my chest. It was not my smartest idea, considering his eyes fell straight down the exposed cleavage.

"I think part of that dress is missing." Came his gruff response. I knew what he meant, but I was supposed to be drunk, so I reacted how I thought a drunk me would have. I looked down, patting myself down, as if searching for something.

"Oh my gooood, where?!" I exclaimed, looking back up at him with wide eyes. "Do you think I dropped it at the club." I craned my head to look over my shoulder to try and look at my back. "Wait which part?" I asked confused, swaying on my feet.

"Forget it, let's go." He snapped, grabbing my arm and dragging me after him. I tripped for real this time, from the suddenness of his movements, causing me to fall right onto him.

"Oooowww." I mumbled, rubbing my nose. "That hurt."

"Jesus, you can't even walk straight." He snapped, reaching down to swoop me up into his arms, ignoring my shriek of protest. "Next time learn to say no to all the drinks that friend of yours and Uriah shove at you."

"How'd you know it was them?" I asked, swinging my feet contently, leaning my head on his chest. I was enjoying this a little too much, and I hated myself for it.

"Because I saw you." My feet stopped kicking, and my heart dropped. If he saw me than he must have seen that I threw most of them away or gave them to other people. I mean I was pretty low with it, but Eric was on a whole different level of observant. I knew this because I watched him during the times he supervised our class. He picked up on things others didn't, including Four, and he didn't hesitate to call us out on it.

"But before I left you were still pretty sober and you'd only had like four drinks." He looked down at me. "How much did you drink?"

"To be honest?" I turned to meet his stare directly, and suddenly finding myself lost in the bluish silver color of them. "I don't know." I whispered quietly, my eyes searching his as they darkened. "I really like your eyes." I blurted without thinking.

His lips quirked into a smirk, but it wasn't the cold smirk I was used to. It was the closest thing to a genuine smile that Eric could even muster. And I felt my breath leave my lungs. "Yours aren't too bad either." He chuckled, adjusting his grip on me. The only thing separating his hand from the skin on my thigh were my boots.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Are you being nice to me?"

"Maybe." He shrugged carelessly, continuing his stride across the halls. There was nobody around, probably because they were either working, at the pit, or out partying.

"Why?"

"Because you won't remember this tomorrow." He said confidently.

"How are you so sure I won't remember?" This time he didn't answer me. He stayed quiet until we were close enough to the dorms. He set me down carefully, and I took a step forward only for my heel to get caught on the uneven rocky floor. A sound of surprise escapes my lips, as I start falling down.

Arms wrap around me, catching me before I touch the floor. My heart is beating a hundred miles an hour as I look up to meet Eric's eyes with mine. "Thank you." I mumble softly, biting my lip because of how nervous I was with the closeness.

He straightened, pulling me up with him, but he didn't let me go. He started down at me for a long moment, and for once his gaze wasn't malicious. "You confuse me. And I don't like being confused." I couldn't help the laugh that escaped me. He actually thought I was more confusing than me, he had another thing coming. One minute he was cold, the other he was hot.

"Right back at you, boss." I smiled up at him, his arms still around me, but I didn't pull away. When I met his gaze, I was taken aback by the intensity of his gaze. It wasn't a look I recognized. I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on but before I could his lips met mine. The kiss was urgent and he took complete control over it and I was unable to resist him. My hands trailed up his chest to his neck where I gripped it to keep him in place.

I shivered as his hands trailed up my sides, to my bare back, a moan escaping me before I could stop it. I gasped when he suddenly picked me up and pressed me against the wall, my legs wounding around his waist. He took advantage of my parted mouth to deepen the kiss, his hands finding the bare skin of my thighs from where my dress rode up. The kiss was anything but gentle, it was rough, fast and I couldn't get enough of it.

I let my hands trail down from his neck down his muscled chest, and further down until I could slip them under his shirt. I felt his groan, muscles tensing under my wandering hands. He pulled back for air, only to start kissing down my neck. I bit my lip to stop another embarrassingly loud moan from escaping when his hands moved to cup my ass.

A loud sound coming from inside the dorms, followed by a curse, broke the spell. He pulled back from the sweet torture on my neck, to stare at me, breathing heavily. I was no different, still trying to catch my breath, but I felt my heart drop in disappointment when I watched his eyes turn cold, his walls coming back up.

He set me down, and took off without another word. I leaned against the wall, running a hand through my hair, the other fixing the hem of my dress. When I finally felt stable enough to walk, I made my way into the dorm, only to see a giggling Christina slipping on one of Will's shirt before slipping into bed with him. I glared halfheartedly at her, slightly jealous that her love life was so going so much better than my own.

If I could even classify it as a love life. Eric had left me hot and bothered, and he was probably regretting everything that happened. I sighed as I shuffled over to my bed, stripping my dress off and changing into my pjs before throwing myself onto my bed and knocking out for the night.


	8. Chapter 8

**Honestly love the reviews guys, they inspire me to write more and it's the reason this chapter is up today! :)**

 **Chapter 8:**

"Is that a hickey?" I turned to look at Christina only to see her openly gaping at my neck. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a second, before my hand flew to my neck. I gaped right back at her before regaining some of my composure.

"Impossible." I muttered, scrambling to get up from where I had been sitting, my untied shoe forgotten as I quickly made my way to the bathroom. I ignored the naked bodies that were still showering, focusing on getting to a mirror to see what the hell Chris was talking about.

"Please don't be there. Please, please, please." I begged, peering into the mirror. My heart dropped when I noticed the big red angry mark on my neck almost immediately seeing as I had put my wet hair up into its usual bun. My mouth fell open in disbelief, my hand flying up to cover it. "That fucking asshole!" I hissed lowly, examining the mark, poking and prodding before determining that it wasn't going disappear anytime soon. I growled, yanking the hair tie out of my hair to cover it up. I'm pretty sure Eric was going to be pretty damn smug about it despite him probably regretting what happened last night. Hopefully he'll think I was piss drunk last night and won't remember anything.

"Who the hell gave you that?" Christina's amused voice echoed through the bathroom, making me wince when I felt eyes on me. I threw a glare at Myra who was peering at me curiously. Almost immediately she turned around, her ears turning red. Edward returned my glare from his place beside his girlfriend. I didn't turn to answer Chris until he turned away from me.

"Honestly? I have no fucking idea." I forced a sheepish smile onto my face, praying she didn't detect any nervousness behind it. The last thing I needed was her to question me about it. I mean what the hell was I going to say? I hadn't been with anyone last night, and then I supposedly went back to the dorms. Tris knew I took a walk but she also knew I wasn't drunk enough to have allowed this or to have conveniently forgotten who gave it to me.

"Was it Uriah?" Christina's voice broke through my thoughts. I looked up to see the sly smile on her face which only served in making me laugh. Uriah and I had been very flirty last night, much to her amusement but it was mostly playful. I had caught him and some other girl making goo-goo eyes at each other despite the fact that he had danced with me for the majority of the night. And since I was planning on forgetting what Eric and I had been doing only a few feet away from the dorms, I went along with it.

"Maybe, but I honestly don't remember." I chuckled, fixing my curly hair so that it didn't look like a birds nest the minute it dried. "What I _do_ remember is how a certain someone slipped into Will's bed last night." I sent her a knowing smirk, giggling when she blushed. I let out a discrete sigh of relief, glad that she didn't notice the change in subject.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She huffed playfully, turning to leave the bathroom.

"Uh-huh, sure you don't." I sang sarcastically, following after her. "Chris and Will, sitting in a tree." She threw her shoe at me and I barely ducked. "Oh feisty, now I know what he sees in you." I winked at her, smiling when Tris started laughing from where she was perched on her bed.

"I really hope we're paired up to fight today." She narrowed her eyes at me, but it was replaced with a goofy smile when Will wrapped an arm around her waist from behind. I could help but wiggle my eyebrows at them, enjoying this a little too much.

"Don't worry Will, I won't hurt her pretty little face too much." I cooed pinching her cheek as I walked past them. I yelped in surprise when her foot connected with my ass. I rubbed it to sooth the pain, all the while glaring at her.

"That wasn't nice." I pointed my finger at her, but she just stuck her tongue out at me. I turned to look at Will with a 'do something' face, but he just shrugged. I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest and following Tris out the room. Which I ended up regretting the minute she opened her mouth.

She didn't speak until we were out of hearing range, which was a relief considering Christina would have jumped at the opportunity to interrogate me. "I know you weren't drunk enough to not remember who did that." She murmured quietly from beside me, making me tense all over again.

I looked sideways at her, trying to figure out if I could get out of this or not. But the determined look on her face had me sighing in defeat. "I don't want to talk about it." I grumbled, stuffing my hands into the pockets of my snug sweat pants. They hung low off my hips, and my tight black, quarter length sleeved shirt ended a couple inches from the waistline. "Hell I don't even want to remember." I muttered, kicking a loose rock out of my way. I was praying that my reluctance to talk about the subject made Tris take pity on me.

"Okay." Her answered shouldn't have surprised me. Unlike Chris, Tris respected boundaries, even if she was curious. "Just tell me it was consensual." I couldn't help but smile at her worried face.

"As much as I want to say it was because of the alcohol, it wasn't." I sighed, my shoulders slumping slightly. She nodded, but she looked even more curious than before. I felt bad that I couldn't confide in her that it was Eric, but I wasn't ready for the repercussions. Tris didn't like him, didn't trust him, and she might lose her trust in me if she thought I was somehow involved with him. Which I totally wasn't.

We walked in a comfortable silence, the echoing laughter of our friends coming from behind us. I liked that about Tris, it was easy and comfortable to be around her, more so than Christina. It didn't mean that I didn't like the little spit fire, but she was a little too enthusiastic for me. Before coming to Chicago I never had girlfriends, always constantly surrounded by people more interested in science and genetics than anything. It was why I made myself a recluse, only hanging around Forrest and Michael.

"Is that Jeanine Matthews?" Startled out of my thoughts I looked up to see that it was in fact Jeanine Matthews. She was standing a few feet ahead of us, with my brother besides her.

"What the hell?" Tris and I exchanged a look, but we continued to stride towards them because the training room was across from where they were standing. Max was with them, and he was standing there looking bored, while Forrest scrolled through the tablet in his hands. Jeanine on the other hand was chatting away about something, but I doubted Max was listening. My eyes narrowed as I tried to figure out why the hell Jeanine was here. I knew she was working closely with Dauntless, but I never thought she'd be cocky enough to just show her face around. She wasn't even trying to hide her presence here, and that was disconcerting.

We were only a few feet away when Eric came out of the training room to meet them. I felt my heart stop for a second when he turned his head in our direction, no doubt having heard our approaching footsteps. I averted my gaze, not wanting to see the regret and disgust in them. I was already beating myself up for allowing that kiss to happen. I didn't need his own rejection added on to my already wounded pride.

Instead I focused my attention onto "Boyce", who was typing away on the tablet, no doubt taking notes on whatever Jeanine was saying. As if sensing my gaze, he looked up, looking me over before a smirk appeared on his face. It was a blank expression, almost indifferent. It was an expression most Erudite wore, besides the superior look they shot those they saw as less intellectual than them.

"Louise Lockwood." Jeanine smiled when she caught sight of us. Her eyes flitted over Tris momentarily, sending a wave of unease through me. The calculated look she sent her had me thinking the worst. What if Jeanine was already onto Tris? What if she _knew_?

"It's Lo." I answered with my own smile, trying to divert her attention from Tris. "It's a pleasure to see you Jeanine… Boyce." I nodded in acknowledgment.

"Louise." He hummed ignoring the fact that I had corrected Jeanine. He gave me a once over before settling on giving me a smirk. "It is good to see you, sober that is." He added the last word mockingly, yet his eyes were shining with amusement.

I let out a laugh, my smile falling into a smirk. "It's always a pleasure to see you, _brother_." My eyes ran over the navy blue tailored suit he was wearing and I couldn't help but curl my lip in disgust. It wasn't as overly blue as some I had seen from other Erudite, but I still found the color offensive. My eyes trailed lazily over to Max, noting that he was watching me intently. I straightened, my stance widening slightly, but I kept my hands casually in my pockets. His lips quirked in amusement, but he didn't comment.

"I see you have adjusted to your life here in Dauntless, Lo." Jeanine murmured, forcing my eyes to leave the Dauntless leader, and focus on her. I didn't like the calculating look in her eyes, nor the way she said my name. The way she looked at me made me feel as if she were analyzing every single thing about me. And I didn't like it.

"I picked the faction in which I felt I was better suited with." I shrugged carelessly. "And the aptitude test was all the confirmation I needed to support my belief." I added as an afterthought.

I could see the approval shining in her eyes, and I had to hold back a sneer. "I've seen the rankings, and I can't help but be impressed." She really did sound impressed, and that just added to the urge to punch her in the face. "I am expecting great things from you." That was a clear dismissal, and I didn't hesitate to turn to leave.

On my way out, I managed to brush past my brother, catching the approving glint in them. "I told you she would be a great asset to Dauntless." I almost faltered in my step at Forrest's words. My eyes narrowed slightly, as I tilted my head to try and listen in some more, but they lowered their voices. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell that was about. I was grateful that Tris didn't comment, but I guess it was because she was more focused on something else.

"Oh my god." I turned my head to see Tris' pale face, looking horrified. Frowning, I followed her gaze to the board. Oh. She was set to fight Peter. Looking through the list I saw that Will was up against Al, Christina against Molly, and I was against Drew. I raised an eyebrow at that.

How was this fair? I turned to look at Four, only to see his lips pressed tightly together in a grim line. It was then that I realized that Eric must have something to do with the new arrangements for the fights today. Guess our little rendezvous together did anything but relax him. But then again I wasn't exactly relaxed either, if anything I was more stressed than I was _before_ our little heated moment.

I barely managed to stop myself from groaning when I started having flash backs of his perfectly muscled body pressed up on me, of his hands traveling over me… I ran a hand over my face, trying to calm myself down.

"Are you okay?" Tris asked from beside me. I flashed her a weak smile.

"I'm just a little worked up from seeing my brother." I eyed her carefully before looking back at the board with our names. "How are _you_ holding up?" From the corner of my eye I watched as our friends filed into the training room, their eyes flying to the board with the names on it. Will and Al exchanged uneasy looks, and I couldn't help but feel bad for them. They were friends, and they had to fight each other for their place here in Dauntless.

"I don't know." She answered honestly, bringing my gaze back to her. I couldn't help but notice that despite her nerves, I could see the determination shining in her eyes. I couldn't help but feel proud of her. And even if she didn't win this fight, she'd be okay. It was a trial run, we weren't going to be graded on this, the next few fights we would.

"I believe in you." This time my smile was genuine. "He's going to be taunting you, so he's going to be too distracted trying to get to you to even think that you'd strike first. So surprise him, aim for his throat, _hard_ and you'll wind him." I caught the look she flashed me but I ignored it, instead focused on Four as he readied the mat.

"How are you so good at all of this?" She questioned me, and I shot her a smirk.

"I knew I was going to pick Dauntless for a while." I shrugged my shoulders, settling her telling her a small lie. "So I learned as much as I could about combat. Weapons was easy enough with my father's position."

"Could you help me?" Her voice was quiet but firm. I contemplated whether or not that was a good idea or not. Then I thought about how I'd need my own army to go against Jeanine, and I knew for sure Tris would be willing to help me once I got around telling her the truth. So I found myself nodding.

"Alright everyone, gather 'round." Four's jaw clenched even harder at the sound of Eric's voice and I couldn't help but worry. I casually made my way over to him, stopping until I was a few steps away from him.

"Are you okay?" I asked lowly, ignoring whatever Eric was saying to the rest of the class. Tris was also focused on Four, looking concerned.

We both watched Four, who seemed to be struggling with himself. Watching the constant ticking in his jaw muscles made me even more uneasy. "Eric decided to match everyone, forgetting the fact that this was supposed to be a trial run."

"Is it still going to be a trial run?" Tris looked even more nervous now. Her face had taken on a paler complexion, and I grimaced at the thought of what would happened to her already low rank.

Four shook his head, his eyes glancing at us from the corner of his eye. "No, he decided to make it count. He didn't care when I told him you guys weren't ready for this."

"He pulled rank when you opposed, didn't he?" He didn't answer but the anger in his eyes gave me my answer.

"He came in this morning in a pissy mood and started writing the pairs on the board. They weren't the ones we had agreed on, and when I put up a fight he said we weren't going to get anything done if we babied you."

"Dauntless only wants the best, and the only way to get the best is to eliminate the weak." I muttered dryly, watching every single initiate. Some looked confident, while others didn't. Peter and his goon, looked extremely cocky.

"Exactly." Four agreed, glaring at Eric who paid him no mind. Instead looked around the room, counting to make sure we were all here.

"Al, Will, you have the pleasure of going first today." Both boys exchanged uneasy looks, but still got on the matt. They got into position, but neither made a move, glancing at Eric uneasily. "Well what are you waiting for?" he snapped.

Will lunged first, landing an uppercut on Al's face. He didn't look nearly as affected as I thought he would, he most looked shocked that Will actually hit him. He threw his own punch to his stomach. Will bent forward, his face contorting with pain, but managed to throw Al off him before he landed another hit. They both took up their defensive stances, but neither moved, their eyes darting back to our instructors. "Well? Keep going!" Eric called out to them, and I could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't happy.

"Is this being scored?" Al asked, slowly losing his fighting stance. "When does the fight end?"

"Until one of you can't continue."

"According to Dauntless rules, one of you can also concede." Four says.

"According to the _old_ rule." Eric sneered, glaring at Four. "New rule, no one concedes."

"A brave man acknowledges the strength of others." Four easily retorts, his posture calm despite the hardness in his eyes.

"A brave man never surrenders." Eric shoots back, looking even more annoyed. They engage in a silent stare down for several minutes before Al, backs down shaking his head.

"This is pointless! Why beat him up when we're in the same faction?!" He looks aggravated.

"You think it's gonna be that easy, huh?" Will grins, straightening his stance. "Come on, come at at me, slowpoke."

Al slowly gets back into position, but eventually he throws a punch at Will, who manages to dodge it. Al tries again, but Will spins out of the way, somehow ended up behind him. He sends a powerful kick to Al's back, who stumbles forward before turning. He looked pissed, roaring before sending a punch so powerful to Will's temple that he knocked him out. I winced when he crumples to the floor, eye closed.

Looking back at Al, I watched carefully how his face shifted from anger to panic the minute he realized what he did. He crouched beside Will, slapping his cheek lightly until he stirred, the regret obvious on his face. In that moment I realized Al wasn't going to make it. He was too soft hearted for all of this. He was the type of person that wouldn't even hurt a fly, and I couldn't help but feel disappointed in him. He chose this faction, despite whatever his aptitude test said, which I would bet my life wasn't Dauntless. He should have known it wouldn't be easy. Dauntless was the warrior faction, something they never failed to brag about. And to train to become one, was never going to be easy. He should have been prepared for it, but he wasn't and now he was suffering the consequences.

"He's okay." I heard Tris reassure Christina who was watching Al escort Will to the nurse with worried eyes. She couldn't leave with them because she was going after me and I was up next. She turned to look at me when Four called my name. "Good luck." I sent her a court nod.

Walking over to the matt, I watched as Peter whispered furiously to him, no doubt telling him to make me pay for what I had done to him. I was slightly surprised that Eric hadn't paired me up with him. He had expressed an interest in seeing me in a proper fight with him. I didn't worry about it too much, instead focused on twirling my hair into a bun. I didn't want to give Drew a chance to grab a hold of my hair as an advantage.

I had forgotten all about the hickey on my neck, since I was so busy thinking of the best way to fight Drew. I hadn't really watched him during practices so I wasn't sure what his style was. It wasn't until Peter spoke up that I remembered about the offensive mark on my neck.

"Nice love bite there, Nose." I forced down a blush, as everyone's eyes landed on me, specifically a pair of silvery blue eyes. I ignored him, focusing on the red head in front of me. He was short, only a couple inches taller than me, but he was bulky. No doubt he packed powerful punches. I followed his lead, getting into stance, and keeping my eyes on him as we circled each other.

"Not gonna say anything?" Drew asked, lips stretching into a sly smirk. I still didn't say anything, simply stared him down, waiting for him to make the first move. He faked a punch to my right side, but I didn't even flinch. That seemed to piss him off, so he went back to taunting me. "I don't know why you freaked with Peter, it's obvious you having someone all over you. Tell me, how many did you fuck last night before you had enough? Did you even have enough?" I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to hit him with all I had.

"Shut up and fight already!" Eric growled out from behind Drew, looking beyond pissed off for reasons I didn't understand. He wasn't the one Drew was taunting and practically calling a slut. But his outburst managed to distract Drew enough that he lowered his guard. I faked a kick to his side, so he dropped his arms lower, before throwing a hard punch. I got him in the eye, and I couldn't help but grin when he stumbled back cursing.

I had to admit I was impressed with his recovery time, as he straightened his stance. He looked beyond pissed, glaring at me through the one eye that wasn't tearing up. He didn't wait to attack, instead just came at me with a punch to my side, and I was right about his strength. His punch hurt like hell when I blocked it, but I still kept an impassive face. He looked thrown off for a second before coming at me with quick punches. I blocked every single one, dancing around him, tiring him out while waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Realizing I wasn't going to be the easy opponent he first thought, he went right back to taunting me, purposely trying to get under my skin. "I get your game now." He muttered, slightly out of breath, but the cocky smirk still playing on his lips. "You like playing hard to get. But you're actually a little slut beneath that 'I'm better than you' attitude you got going." He looked like he was ready to say more but I saw how his hands dipped slightly, giving me the opening I was looking for.

Before she could say anything else, I threw an upper cut, hitting him right in the jaw. I smirked when the force of it snapped his mouth close and he ended up biting his tongue so hard he drew blood. He let out a sharp cry, hands flying to his mouth, eyes blazing. He spat blood in my face, blinding me for a second. But a second was all he needed. He tackled me, knocking me straight to the floor. I quickly brought my knees up, using his momentum to throw him over my head.

I rolled away, rushing to my feet before he recovered. Despite how tired he was, he jumped back up fairly easily, not hesitating to come at me again. Tired of my offense strategy, I met him head on. I danced out of the path of his fist, grabbing hold of his wrist and twisting his arm around his back, my elbow connecting with his head the second after. He stumbled forward but I didn't give him a chance to recover.

I climbed into his back, and onto his shoulders before twisting my body towards the floor. He felt down hard, hands flying up to try and pry my thighs from their death grip on him. I immediately grabbed hold of his arms, pulling them back and squeezing my thighs harder, effectively cutting off his air supply.

He struggled frantically in my hold for a few more seconds before he finally went limp. I let go the minute I felt him pass out, shoving him off me before getting up. I strolled off the matt, not bothering to check up on him. I'd leave him to Four and Eric to deal with.

It was quiet for a long time after I stepped off the matt, so I whirled around to glare at everyone. "What? Anyone willing to be my round two?" I snapped, glaring at each and every initiate before turning my glare on Eric.

He was staring be down as if he was trying to see through me, see all my secrets. His silvery blue eyes were currently bluer than anything, and the look in his eyes reminded me of the one he had before he had kissed me. My breath caught in my throat, catching me off guard for a second before I steeled myself, lifting my chin up in defiance. His eyes darkened even more, but he didn't say or do anything. Instead he nodded to Four to get Drew out of the way.

Four motioned to Edward to help him, and together they carried Drew out. I stepped beside Tris, who sent me an impressed smile. "That was amazing!" she breathed.

"Thanks." I murmured, the adrenaline from the fight fading away as I watched Eric circle my name. Next was Tris and Peter. "Remember," I turned to her, grabbing her shoulders, which turned out to be awkward considering I was shorter than her. I had to get on my tippy toes so she would have to hunch over to meet my gaze. "breathe, relax. Do not let your nerves get to you and look for weak points. Jab to the throat. Knee to the balls. Then hit him with all you got."

She looked nervous but she nodded her head, determination shinning in her eyes. "Okay."

"Stiff, Candor, let's go!" Eric called, looking bored as he leaned against a table, waiting.

My eyes narrowed at Peter, who cockily sauntered to the matt. He looked as if he had already won the fight and it made me wanted to switch places with her. "Good luck." I patted her arm as she walked past me to the matt. By the time she'd gotten on, Four was back with Al at his side.

Four hadn't looked happy since we had started the fights, but now he looked down right mad. His arms were cross tightly across his chest, his hands and jaw clenched just as tightly.

"This is ridiculous." I jumped, Al's voice catching me off guard. I hadn't even realized he had moved to join me, having been too preoccupied scrutinizing Four and worrying about Tris. "What happened to fair fights against our equal?" He muttered not even looking at me.

"Eric happened." I muttered, turning back to watch as Tris and Peter got into stance. They started circling each other, Peter watching Tris with a menacing glint in his eyes.

"What's wrong Stiff? It looks like your gonna cry." He said mockingly, but Tris didn't respond, she was too busy watching him, looking for an opening.

"Good girl, don't listen to that bastard." I whispered under my breath, watching them intently.

"I might go easy on you if you cry. Just one tear, come on." He kept on going, but this time he threw a punch the minute he was done talking. Tris blocked it, and landed a jab on his throat. The only mistake she made was not acting quick enough to strike a second time. I put it to the fact that she was shocked to have even landing the blow. She did manage to send a kick to his side, but it was weak so it didn't faze Peter as much as the one to his throat.

He caught her leg the next time she threw a kick, pulling it until she fell down hard. "Come on Tris!" I called out, panicking. Eric shot me a look but I ignored him, my hand flying to grip Al's arm. He didn't seem to notice that my nails were digging into his arm, because he was too busy watching Peter as he sent a punch to Tris' face before she had fully gotten up.

I let out a strangled sound, taking a step forward. Al's arm stopped me from going any further, and I sent him a halfhearted glare. "If I let you go you're going to end up interfering. And I'm pretty sure Eric's not gonna let that go."

My shoulders fell in defeat, but they stiffened at Eric's voice. "What are you waiting for? Finish her."

My head snapped up in time to watch Peter practically stomp on her face. My eyes widened to the point where I was sure they'd fall out. "Oh my god Tris!" I ran to where her limp form was. Al was not far behind me, hovering over us as I pushed her hair out of her face. "Oh Tris." Her face was already starting to turn purple and swell up. I looked up trying to search for Four, but I couldn't see him anywhere. I let out an aggravated sigh when I came to the conclusion that he must have left sometime during the fight. "Help me get her to the infirmary." I muttered to Al, not looking up at him. He easily scooped her up into his arms, and was able to help me up even with Tris in his arms. I followed him off the matt, and took a step to follow him out, but Eric stopped me.

I exhaled through my nose, beyond annoyed. I whirled around to glare at him, but he wasn't looking at me. "We'll continue with the fights after lunch." He dismissed the rest of the initiates, before turning to me. "You stay." He didn't offer an explanation, which pissed me off even more.

"I'll let you know how she's doing." Christina promised with a forced smile. After my nod, she ran off after Al.

I waited until the room was completely empty before turning to face Eric. "What do you want?" My voice was low and devoid of any emotion, throwing him off guard for a second. My lips quirked up into half a smirk for a second. I was glad I was able to throw him off, let him know he wasn't the only one that could play this game.

"That was an impressing fight, initiate." He commented nonchalantly, still leaning against that goddamn table.

I raised an eyebrow, crossing my arms over my chest. "You seriously held me back to compliment me?" I asked incredulously. "Save it, I know I was good, I don't need to hear you tell me that. I have more important shit to do." I sneered, turning on my heel to leave.

"I didn't dismiss you, initiate." He snarled, but I didn't stop walking.

"I'm sorry, I ran out of the fucks to give." I called back. Not even a second later, a hand grabbed me from around the waist and tossed to the floor as if I was nothing more but a rag doll.

I rolled once before coming back up to my feet, glaring at a fuming Eric. "I said I wasn't done initiate." He snapped, taking a menacing step forward.

I took a step forward too, not at all scared of him. "I was." I bit out. "Now get out of my way, Eric. I have an hour to eat and see my friends."

"You really call that pathetic Stiff your friend?" he let out a sarcastic laugh. "Please, we both know she won't make it."

"Don't you remember what I told you the first night?" I raised an eyebrow as I sauntered up to him, a smirk on my lips. "The weaker ones are the ones that surprise us the most, darling. And I'll enjoy watching your face when she makes it out on top." I honestly prayed she did or else I'd be the one eating my words.

"A little cocky aren't we?" His husky voice lowered until his voice was a low rumble that did things to me. Things that made me hate myself even more than I already did. I was playing with fire and for the life of me I couldn't stop.

"I have every right to be." I shrugged, stopping once I was inches away from him. "We both know I'd be number one if it wasn't for the fact that you can't stop provoking me."

"You're crossing a line here, initiate." He snapped, looking down at him with dark blue eyes.

I leaned forward, until our chests almost touched. "Just like you crossed it last night?" I whispered with a smirk. It grew bigger when I saw his jaw clench. "You thought I'd forget huh? You _prayed_ I did, didn't you?" I taunted, backing away from him.

"What was I supposed to do? You were practically throwing yourself at me." He sneered, glaring at me and I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out. I was full blown laughing to the point there were tears in my eyes and I was doubled over.

"Oh my god," I got out through my chuckled. "Are you seriously telling me, you couldn't resist little o' me in a little provocative dress? Leaning all over you because I was so drunk I couldn't walk? Couldn't stop flirting?" I laughed again, noting that he got madder the more I laughed. "Ah that's rich."

And suddenly I was thrown against a wall, pinned there by two steel arms. I yelped when my back connected with the hard wall, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. I looked up at Eric, the dark glint in his eyes turning me on when it shouldn't. Was it sick that I loved how dominate he was and how downright sexy he was when he acted like this.

"You listen to me, _initiate_ , that was a once in a life time thing." He snarled, leaning down until our noses touched. "It's never going to happen again and you're not going to bring it up again. Ever."

I raised an incredulous eyebrow at him. "I was drunk, and I seduced you." I murmured, leaning closer to him until our lips almost brushed. "Now what would happen if I was sober _and_ I purposely seduced you?"

"It won't get you a higher rank if that's what you're aiming for." His voice was a low growl, but his eyes were focused on my lips.

I let out a breathy laugh. "We both know I don't need to seduce you for a higher rank." I smiled, brushing my lips lightly against his once, twice, and when he dipped his head down to deepen the kiss, I slipped out from under his arm. "And it's never gonna happen according to you, right boss?" I mocked, sending him a wicked smirk from over my shoulder.

I almost laughed again when I caught sight of his dumbstruck face, before it morphed into a pissed off one as he watched me slip out of the training room. I let out a satisfied sigh, loving how it was _me_ in control this time. _That'll teach the jackass_ , I thought huffing.


	9. Chapter 9

**Alright guys, I know it's been a while, but i had sort of a writers block. It was frustrating because i knew exactly what i wanted to happen but i couldnt get the words to flow the way i wanted. But here's chapter 9 and i know it's short but it's loaded.**

 **Hopefully i will get the next chapter in by the end of this week or the weekend. Enjoy and please dont forget to review i love reading your reviews! :)**

 **Chapter 9:**

Lunch passed by quickly, mostly because I had wasted half of it with Eric. I had only managed to grab a muffin before running off to the infirmary to see my friends. But Will was the only one awake when I got there. Tris didn't wake up, and I couldn't help but worry about her. She was covered in black and blues; literally. Peter hadn't even blinked when he'd been hitting her and now seeing the aftermath made me sick. I guess we were all feeling that way because we spent the majority of our visit in silence. We managed to talk every once in a while, hoping that the last few fights would be uneventful, specifically Christina's. But of course we were wrong.

Christina's fight with Molly was just as brutal as Peter. Molly sent punch after punch, kick after kick, never letting up once to allow Christina a chance to fight back. The five minutes the fight lasted, felt more like five hours.

"God they're all sick." I muttered, watching them half horrified, half pissed off.

"No wonder they get along so well." Will muttered, arms crossed tightly across his chest, his expression pained. I couldn't blame him. He really cared for Christina, and it must be painful to watch her get beat up like this without being able to do anything about it.

I winced when Molly landed another hard blow to Chris' face, her nose instantly pouring out blood. I watched as my friend crawled back on the matt, away from Molly. "Okay! Stop!" Christina choked out. "I'm… I'm done." She held her hand out to stop an advancing Molly and I tensed, my eyes flying to Eric who looked livid. My panic only increased when he masked it just as quickly before he strode over to Christina.

He appeared calm when he stopped in front of the matt, looking down of Christina. But it was the look in his eyes that had my blood freezing in my veins. "I'm sorry, what did you say? You're done?" He was too calm.

"Get back up, Chris." I whispered, digging my nails in my arms.

"Are you kidding? She keeps going and god knows what will happen in that fight." Will hissed, looking just as upset as I was feeling.

"Yeah, but that's better than whatever Eric is planning." I snapped back, my eyes never leaving Eric as he watched Christina trying to stop her nose bleed. Her entire front was covered in blood. "Eric is always preaching about bravery, so do you really think he's going to let her concede that easily?" And then, Christina finally looked up at Eric and nodded once, her eyes were dark with defeat and fear.

"Alright, come on, let's go." Eric helped her up, and motioned for the rest of us to follow him. I couldn't help but let my eyes narrow as we all followed him through the halls of Dauntless, his hand resting on Christina's back. The walk was silent, and it wasn't until we heard the roaring of the chasm, that Eric spoke. "How are you feeling? Better?" His voice was quiet, almost as if he really cared, and for a second I felt jealous. He'd never spoken to me like that, instead he was a complete and utter asshole all the time.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Christina murmured, running a hand through her short hair. Eric smiled, and I just wanted to punch him.

But then we were halfway across the bridge, and he shoved Christina off the side that had no railing. My heart dropped, my throat closing as panic washed over me. "Christina!" I shouted, pushing my way past the people in front of me that were blocking my view. When I made it to the front, Will not far behind me, I saw Eric crouching, holding onto Christina's hand. He waited until her other hand grabbed onto the bridge, before letting go.

"If you can hold on for five minutes, I'll forget your cowardice. If you can't I won't allow you to continue." He said staring down at her with cold eyes.

"What the fuck are you doing?!" I shouted, my eyes on Christina, who had paled considerably. Her normal cinnamon skin tone, was now an ashy white. "There is nothing cowardly in conceding!" I went on, stepping up to Eric, my heart beating so fast I was scared it would beat right out of my chest.

"Do you want to join your friend?" He glared down at me, and for a second I was actually scared. He looked like a completely different person, eyes colder than ice, staring at me as if I was nothing more than another expandable soldier to be. But I didn't back down, instead I lifted my chin in defiance.

"I didn't do anything, and neither did she." I said lowly, staring at him as if he were a stranger. "Is this how it's always going to be here? I thought Dauntless was all about protecting those who cannot protect themselves. I thought Dauntless was all about honor."

"We are. We are the warrior faction." He snarled down at me. "So we must train to prepare soldiers for the worst situations. And if she can't handle this, she won't last initiation. And you know what that means?" He leaned close until our faces were inches apart and his breath fanned across my face. "It means she doesn't belong here." I searched his eyes, trying to find _something_ human about this man. There is no possible way he could be this cruel. But his eyes were set, hard as ice, and I felt myself deflate a little bit, and couldn't help but feel stupid.

During the time I had allowed whatever it is that is between between Eric and I to start, I had deluded myself into thinking that maybe there was hope for him. That beneath this mean exterior, there was an honorable man somewhere inside. But I was wrong. The truth hit me hard, so hard I struggled to breathe. I hadn't realized how much _hope_ I had that Eric could be a good guy.

"Where is the honor is bullying someone when they can't continue an unfair fight?" I whispered. "What happened to fair fights to test our level of skills?"

"Life isn't fair, sweetheart." I flinched, turning my gaze away from him. The way he said it, as if the endearment was a curse, hurt more than it should have. He pulled back, and for a second I thought I saw a flash of pain in his eyes, but it was gone so fast I couldn't tell if I had imagined it or not. "And if you couldn't handle this, then you picked the wrong faction." I dropped my gaze, my shoulders sagging in defeat. I could try for as long as I could, but Eric will always be this cruel Dauntless leader.

I turned towards Christina, and my defeated gaze met hers. She was straining to hold on, the ice cold water having already drenched her, her hands slowly slipping. But when she saw the defeated look in my eyes, hers hardened with determination as she adjusted her grip. She wasn't going to give up, and it was obvious she was mad as hell that I had given up to Eric.

It hit me then. I wasn't like this. I wasn't weak. So I closed my eyes, counted to ten then straightened my shoulders. I wasn't going to let this bother me. Eric was nothing to me, just like I was nothing to him. I had a mission. And there was no room in my life for more complications.

When I heard the beeping of a watch, I turned towards the sound, my eyes connecting with Al's. He held his watch up, glaring at Eric. "Time's up."

I started forward, reaching for Christina almost immediately, only to have a hand hold me back. I yanked my arm out of Eric's grip, glaring at him with more hate that I have ever felt before.

I smirked when I saw the surprise on his face but it quickly turned into his usual scowl. "She can pull herself up." Eric bit out, his eyes blazing as they stared into mine. My own narrowed while I squared my shoulders ready to take him on, but Al spoke up first.

"No way! She did what you said, she held on!" Al snapped from behind me, moving past us to reach for Christina who was struggling to keep up. I moved to help him pull her up, but of course, with his size and strength, he didn't need my help.

Eric was quiet as I wrapped my arms around her shivering form, uncaring if she was drenched. "You're okay." I murmured softly, while she burrowed closer to me.

"Class is dismissed." With that Eric was gone, stalking away from us. But I wasn't going to let this go.

"Will, take her to the infirmary." I instructed, waiting until he took her out of my arms, before running after Eric. The only problem was that Eric was faster than I gave him credit for and was gone by the time I reached the hallway he had turned down. "Dammit!" I snarled, banging on the wall with my open palm, unfazed by the stinging pain. Because I didn't know where the hell he could have gone, I just turned back to the dorms. I showered and changed into black ripped jeans, and a light, off the shoulder, black cropped sweater.

I shoved my feet into my combat boots, grateful no one was in the dorms. I slipped my watch out of my hiding place and headed out to my little spot. I hadn't had time between last night and this morning to send a message to Michael, so I was going to take this time to do it, so he'd send the information to Forrest.

 _'_ _Great. Couple more days to Capture the Flag. Be prepared. Forrest and Jack will meet you in the house of mirrors'_

Well if that wasn't cryptic. But I knew he wouldn't send any more information. It was hard enough as it was. It was the main reason I hated this freaking code, but because I couldn't exactly walk around with a tablet without raising any more suspicion that I probably already did.

I shoved the sleek watch into my front pocket, before emerging from the shadows that surrounded the entrance of my little hideout. All the while I was thinking about Eric, and what he said and did. It was ridiculous how much it hurt when I didn't even really know him. All I knew was that I was attracted to him, and if he kissed me again, I wouldn't be able to resist him.

I sighed, running a hand through my curly hair, not really paying attention to where I was walking so it was no shock that I ran into someone. Sadly, it was the last person I wanted to run into in one of the many deserted halls of Dauntless.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Erudite slut." Peter's voice grated on my nerves, making my nostrils flare in barely restrained annoyance.

"Well, well, well if it isn't the Candor piece of shit." I drawled, slipping my hands into my back pockets and putting all my weight on one leg. My stance screamed casual, but I was more than ready for a fight. Because I knew what this was, especially when I saw a banged up Drew seething behind him. This was the confrontation they wanted. They chance to get even without anyone to stop them but me.

"You need to watch your fucking mouth." Peter snarled, stepping closer until he was centimeters from my face. His arms flex in his sleeveless black shirt, and I had to admit he had filled in since we first started training. But it still didn't worry me. What _did_ worry me was fighting him and Drew at the same time. I was skilled, but I was still a 5'4" girl who was seriously outweighed by both of them.

But that didn't mean I'd take their shit. "And _you_ need to get the fuck out of my face." I snarled pushing him back away from me. He got mad, reaching out to grab me, Drew stepping forward to assist. I didn't give him the chance, grabbing his wrist and twisting him around and throwing him into Drew.

Now I knew I was in trouble because they were already mad, and after that they were going to be pissed. I tried to figure out how to get back to the pit, where there would be people- witnesses- but I was coming up blank. This was the one section of Dauntless I didn't know as well. My only option was to run, which I did the minute they started getting up from where they had fallen on the floor. I wasn't going to stick around to try and fight. It was two against one, and even though one was injured, they still fought dirty. I'd seen it first hand and I wasn't about to take my chances with whatever they had planned for me.

"Come back here you little bitch!" Peter thundered, his voice echoing through the halls and I prayed that fucking someone was wondering around and heard him. But I still didn't stop running. I had to get somewhere, anywhere, where people would be.

I was running so fast that on one turn I turned too sharply and slammed against the wall, slowing my process. My heart stuttered as I heard their footsteps getting louder, but I kept going stumbling a little because I had hurt my hip when it had connected with the rough wall. But it was too late.

"Gotchu!" Peter's voice growled from behind me right before his hand grabbed a fistful of my hair, yanking me back. I felt my heart drop, as fear washed over me. I knew exactly what they were going to do to me, and I was _scared_. I would fight and for a second I thought I could win, but then I saw Drew stalking towards us, a crazed look in his eyes. I let out a blood curling scream, hoping to god we weren't in a blind spot and someone in the control room had seen us on the cameras.

But until then I was on my own. I swung back blindly, hoping to get in a good hit. I managed to hit Peter in the face by some miracle, but another fist slammed into the side of my face dazing me enough for them to slam me against the wall and pin me there. It wasn't until I felt a set of hands reaching for my shirt, and Drew's voice whispering in my ear that I shook myself out of my daze.

"You owe me somethin' for the shit you put me through today, you little bitch." I yelped when his big hands ripped my shirt. I was breathing hard, feeling the hysteria build in me, all the while trying to get his hands off me.

"No, no, no, NO!" I screamed, hitting his chest frantically trying to push him away from me, but he held his ground. Panicked, I started slapping and hitting him in the face until he backed up enough but Peter was there to hold help him hold me down. I continued screaming, ignoring the pain in my head and fighting them both, hoping someone would hear me. But I was slowly losing hope.

Still struggling against the two of them, I managed to get enough space to put my foot up on Drew's chest. I put all my strength into my legs to push Drew back. He stumbled back into Peter, giving me my window of opportunity. Without another thought, I took off running, holding my ripped shirt against my chest while I trying to keep upright.

It was the pain in my head, which was getting worse and worse, that slowed me down. I was breathing hard as I frantically tried to find my way through the halls. It wasn't until I reached another hall, that I finally felt hope return.

Four running towards me, Eric right behind him. Both looked angry and concern, the latter becoming more prominent when they caught sight of me swaying in place. I let out a hysterical laugh taking a step towards them when a body slammed into me, taking us both to the floor to the other side of the hall.

I landed roughly on my stomach, feeling my chin scrape against the stone floor, the body heavy against my back. "I'm gonna fuck you so hard you'll feel me for _days_." Drew hissed in my ear, grabbing the back of my already ripped shirt and yanking it right off of me. I took in a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. Help was here, and I just needed to buy myself some more time.

Hands shaking me roughly, brought me out of my thoughts. "You hear me bitch?!" Drew's hands fell onto my waist to flip me onto my back. His half crazed eyes glaring down at me as he reached for his belt. And suddenly I saw red. This bastard really thought I was going to just let him rape me and then get away with it. Like hell was that going to happen.

"I heard you loud and clear you son of a bitch!" I snarled grabbing his head in my hands and slamming it against the wall closest to us. His grip loosened, and ignoring the throbbing pain that radiated from my whole body, I kicked him off me. Once his large body was off of me, I saw Peter standing in the shadows by the hall where I had seen Four and Eric running down. He was clearly hesitating, as if unsure whether to get me or run. But no doubt he probably saw and heard Four and Eric, so he decided to save himself instead. I watched, numb as he ran down the hall, feeling rage build up inside me now that the fear was gone.

I used to the wall to get back up, and went to send a kick to a dazed Drew, but an arm around my waist yanked me away from him before my foot could connect. "Let me go!" I screamed, struggling like a madwoman in whoever's arms I was in. "You don't know what he tried to do to me! You don't know what he said to me!" I slammed my elbows into the person's sides.

"Dammit, Lo, stop it! Relax!" Eric's voice growled in my ear, the arm around my waist tightening. Even the sound of his voice couldn't calm me down. There was no reasoning with me, I was after blood. Specifically Drew and Peter's.

"No, you don't know what they were planning." I breathed out, still struggling in his arms, my eyes locked on Drew's figure lying on the ground. Four was bent over, checking his pulse and I let out a cold, laugh. I hadn't killed him. They hadn't given me the chance. "He's alive, sadly. But if you guys were just another minute late, I would have killed him." I whispered, becoming suddenly still in Eric's arms. God only knows what's going to happen now. Peter was still out there, and he wasn't going to let this go. He would come after me again. So would Drew if they let walk. I knew he would. I felt it deep in my gut, and I trusted my instincts.

"I know babe." I felt his lips pressed against my hair, his other arm coming around me too. I didn't fight him, instead I sagged against his chest. I felt safe, for the first time in what felt like forever but was probably only minutes since Peter had first found me. How long had I been running? How long had it taken them to notice I was in trouble?

"They both need to go to the Infirmary." Four's voice broke through the quiet. And I felt my temper flare. Why did Drew need medical attention?

"No, he doesn't need help. He needs to be arrested, killed, I don't care but I don't want him anywhere near me." I snapped, feeling the tension in my tired body, pushing against Eric so he'd let me go. "And if you don't do something about him, I will." I said seriously, looking Four dead in the eye.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Eric beat him to it. "Tell the Doctor to go my apartment, she'll be staying there until all this is settled." he ordered, his arms tightening until I was forced to relax again. I didn't protest because I knew I would be safe in Eric's. At least until I was fully recovered enough to fight again; until I had a plan. As it was, my vision blurred every other second, and my head hurt too much to try and think how I'd get my revenge.

"I really think she should go to the nurse. Her eyes keep going unfocused." Four sounded extremely concerned, stepping forward to examine me, but stopped when Eric pulled me back and away from him.

"Then hurry the hell up, get that dip shit to the infirmary and tell the Doctor to come to my apartment." Eric snapped back, letting me go long enough to take off his hoodie and slip it over my head. It was then that Four finally realized my state of undress. His cheeks turned a bright red, and averted his eyes shifting uncomfortably. Eric let out an annoyed growl, before scooping me up in his arms and carrying me all the way to his apartment. I stayed quiet the whole time, my head resting on his chest, staring off at nothing in particular. I tried not to think about what could have happened to me, and focused on the fact that I was okay.

"How are you feeling?" Eric's gruff voice filled in the silence, forcing me back from my little happy place, back into reality. It took me a minute to process that he sounded mad, and that he had a death grip on me.

"What are you so mad about?" My voice was low and emotionless. "Did I interrupt your reign of terror, oh mighty Dauntless leader?" I didn't even look at him, just kept staring blankly at nothing.

"Dammit, Lo, I was serious." He snapped, and I felt him look down at me. "I was in the control room with Four when I saw you on the monitors running for your goddamn life."

"I knew those cameras would save my ass." I said wistfully, but still didn't answer his question. I mean what the hell could I say? I was chased down by two animals that had wanted nothing more than to break me in the worst possible way. How was I supposed to feel? Because at the moment I didn't feel anything but the pain in my head and body. Aches that I didn't know how I got.

"What the hell happened?" He asked as we reached the top of the stairs I hadn't noticed we had gone up. He continued down the hall, stopping in front of a steel door.

"You can set me down." I said evenly, already shifting out of his arms. He was reluctant but let go of me. He reached for a keycard from his back pocket, swiped and shoved the door open, gesturing for me to step in first. The minute I did, my eyes did a quick sweep of the place, determining that it was empty, save the two of them. It was also big, spacious, and neat. Though that doesn't surprise me. Eric has always been neat, his appearance included, even during training. His apartment had the kitchen to the left, separated from the living room by the table island. The floor was hardwood, his couch black and plush, an elegant black coffee table in front of it. Across from the couch was a flat screen TV. There were two closed doors right across from where I stood, a large bookcase sitting in between them.

"Nice place." I muttered, standing in the middle of the room feeling awkward and out of place. He didn't respond, so I turned to see what he was doing. I raised an eyebrow when I caught he staring at me from where he was leaning against the table island. "What?"

"What happened?" He crossed his arms across his chest, his silvery blue eyes more blue than anything today.

"What do you think?" I snorted, turning back to walk over to examine the books he had that filled the bookcase top to bottom. "Peter and Drew were looking for some pay back. Drew for the beating I gave him, and Peter for the humiliation from the first week."

"Did they do anything?" He growled and I paused over a book from the old world that had caught my attention. It was one of the four books in the series. It was about a human girl who fell in love with a vampire, not a book I'd ever picture Eric reading.

"Never took you as a fan of vampires and romance." I murmured quietly, plucking the book from its place and opening it to the prologue.

"Can you stop changing the subject?" He snapped stalking towards me until he was standing behind me.

 _"_ _I'd never given much thought to how I would die-"_ The book was snatched out of my hand before I could continue and I felt a smile tug at my lips. He was still as impatient and grouchy as ever, and for some reason that brought my comfort. "Alright, have it your way." I muttered turning to face him. "No they didn't rape me, though they did try… hard." I didn't mis the way his eyes flashed with anger when I said 'rape' let out a tired sigh. "Now can I please rest until the doctor gets here? My head hurts." He relented, even though he was reluctant. He gestured me to the couch and I laid down, closing my eyes, and I slowly felt myself slip into unconsciousness.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, so I finally got to writing after days of writing and deleting because i couldnt get it just the way i wanted. As i've said before this story is completely my idea of twisting the plot of the original Divergent series by Veronica Roth. She owns all the characters and the main plot. So yes my version of the Bureau is my own and might be confusing. Any questions please ask in the reviews and I'll try to explain without adding to the confusion.**

 **As to my most recent review from YaoiLovinKitsune thank you so much for the review! I'm so glad you and so many other are loving my story it honestly makes my day and inspires me to write! And Yes Eric will be a good guy but eventually. Him and Lo have a lot to get through before that happens.**

 **But enjoy this little bit with them ;)**

 **Chapter 10**

"She's been asleep for the past twenty minutes." Eric's rough voice murmured, rousing me from my sleep. "She was complaining about a headache and laid down. I tried waking her up but she fucking slapped me." My lips twitched at the revelation, amused at the grudging undertone I heard in his voice.

"And that is why you don't disturb a lady when she is trying to get much needed beauty sleep." I yawned, opening my eyes to stare at his black ceiling. I didn't want to look at him, I just wanted to pretend that today never happened. I already felt ashamed with myself because if it hadn't been for Eric and Four, Peter and Drew might have gotten away with their plan. But I was laying here, in his apartment, on his couch. There was no way he was going to just let me walk out of here without a full detailed description of what happened tonight.

I let out a long breath before turning my head slightly to see him standing a few feet away from the couch, scowling down at me. I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing at him. "Well excuse me from trying to keep you from dying in your sleep because of a concussion." He muttered sarcastically and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Actually the primary treatment to a concussion is cognitive rest. That means that if concussed, one must limit strenuous activities and let the brain rest. So sleeping is actually good for helping the brain recover." I spoke as if reciting from a text book which I probably was. The bureau focused primarily on studying the brain, so of course I knew a lot about it.

The doctor grinned widely, an amused glint in his eyes as he approached me. "Erudite defect, right?" He wasn't anything like the doctors from back home. He was pure muscle, but not overly muscular. He was also incredibly tall and had a shaved head with tattoos sleeves that were showcased by the black sleeveless muscle shirt he was wearing. To anyone else he probably would have been intimidating, but I wasn't just anyone. Plus, I hadn't expected anything less from a _Dauntless_ doctor.

I gave him a strained smile. "That obvious?" And that is why I was thankful we had agreed to have me defect from Erudite. I may not have the same smarts as Forrest, but I wasn't stupid either, and I had my moments when I surprised people.

"Nah, not at all." He chuckled and settled on the coffee table across from me. He pulled out a penlight from his pocket. "I'm Tucker, by the way."

"Lo." I offered, glancing back at Eric his beautiful eyes were staring at me with an intense expression I didn't want to decipher, so I turned back to look at the Doctor. I was tired of trying to figure out what mood he was in. It shifted faster than I could keep up with.

"Alright Lo, let's check if you actually do have a concussion." He flashed the bright light in my eyes, and I forced myself not to flinch. It made my headache worse but I knew that it was necessary so I sucked it up. When he was done he sat back, turning his light off and putting it away. "You are, but it's mild. Take it easy the next couple of days and you should be fine. Four also informed me that you took quite a few hits so mind if I check you over." He gestured to the extremely baggy hoodie I was wearing.

"Yeah, sure." I muttered, shrugging out of it, uncaring that I was just in a bra. Doc didn't seem phased by it either but a glance in Eric's direction, revealed his jaw clenched in displeasure.

"You couldn't have thrown a shirt before you started stripping." He snapped, his expression darker than I have ever seen it. I barely managed to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

"I'm being examined… by a doctor. If my boobs bother him, then he obviously picked the wrong damn job." I snapped back, holding back a wince as I straightened, only now feeling the pain that radiated from my side. The doc's lips twitched in amusement, but wisely kept his mouth shut and focused on examine my side. It was the same side that had crashed into the wall in my mad dash away from those assholes. Great just another injury to add to my never ending list.

"You've got a nasty bruising going on here." He indicated to my right side. "Starting at your shoulder and ending at what looks like your hip."

"Probably from my little spat with the walls of Dauntless." I snorted, shifting to ease the pain. "That it Doc?" I asked anxious to go to bed to sleep and forget about this goddamn night.

"Looks, like it." He answered, probably seeing my desperate look. "The bruising on your face should be gone in a couple days, the ones on your side might take loner because of the size but other than that your fine. These pain killers will do the trick if the pain in your side is bothering you as much as I think it is." He sent me a knowing smile, as he tossed me a bottle.

I caught it easily with my left hand, and nodded to him in thanks. As he stepped out with Eric, I pulled his hoodie to cover my body, opting to wait for Eric to come back and tell me where his bathroom was. I didn't want to go through the pain of putting the damn thing on only to take it off again when I showered in, hopefully, a couple of minutes.

As I waited I examined his apartment some more, noticing that it was plainly decorated, if I could even say that. There was nothing personal in here, other that the files scattered on the coffee table, and his tablet on the edge of it. I heard Eric come back, and when I looked at him I could tell he was ready to start this discussion all over again and I just couldn't handle that.

I raised my hand, palm out, my eyes focused on his to show that I was being serious. "Can we just not?" I croaked, cursing myself for that. I needed to come off strong, so he wouldn't see any more weakness in me.

"I watched the feeds while you were asleep." He said calmly, ignoring what I just said. "And you could have walked away." I knew what he was talking about and I couldn't help the flare of anger that welled up inside of me.

"No I couldn't have and you know it, they started it and like hell was I gonna just stand there and wait for them to make the first move." I snapped, my eyes flashing up to glare at him.

"You could have let it go and walked away. If they knew any better, they would have let you go. The hallway you three were in is a highly monitored one. Someone would have seen if something happened."

"Are you kidding me?!" I yelled, shooting up to my feet, letting the hoodie drop to the floor, uncaring that I was half naked in front of him. "Peter and Drew are vicious. They'd do anything to be at the top. But I challenged that." I snapped, running a hand through my hair, wincing when my wounded side protested, but it didn't stop me from continuing. "Peter is ranked second, and I humiliated him. _Me!_ A barely five-foot girl ranked below him, and he wasn't going to let that slide. Drew, I handed him his ass today in class." I growled, taking a second to notice that his eyes had gotten darker after having scanned my body. I ignored the tingling sensation in my tummy, and continued on with my rant. "I didn't just beat him, I knocked him out cold. No man would handle that type of blow to his ego."

"Max is still thinking you provoked them when you shoved them." My mouth fell open. "I don't like it either but that's how they're ruling it. Drew will be punished, Peter however will not because he wasn't caught red handed. Even with the tapes we only got the bits when they were chasing you. We don't even see where or how you hit your head."

"Great that's just great." I threw my hands in the air, letting out a hiss when I jostled my side. "I get attacked in a compound filled with cameras literally everywhere, but when I need them they don't catch those mother fuckers?!" I snarled. "Now I have to go back out there tonight and pray Peter doesn't try to finish this while I sleep." I ran my left hand through my hair.

"You'll be staying with me until the end of initiation." My head snapped up to look at him incredulously. He had spoken so calmly it threw me off.

"I can't live with you. I'd look like a coward if I stay here." Even though I really didn't want to go back. Because as much as I hated to admit it, I had been scared the entire time I was running for them. Hell I was _still_ scared. And I didn't like the feeling.

"You really care about how you'd look to the others instead of your own goddamn life?" He snapped, losing his cool. He looked pissed off, which was ironic considering what he put Christina through because he had deemed _her_ a coward for conceding in a fight.

I let out a bark of laughter, holding my side to ease the pain. "Are you kidding me? You the tough guy that preaches about how Dauntless aren't cowards, is lecturing me about this right now?"

"That's different, Lo!" He snapped, the veins in his neck more prominent than ever.

"Please, enlighten me as to how." I leaned back onto my right leg, arms crossed over my chest. I couldn't help but smirk when his eyes dipped down to my cleavage for the slightest second before looking back up at me. His eyes were wide, mouth opening and closing a couple times before he snapped it shut, lips pressed together as he glared at me. I raised an eyebrow at him, tapping my foot to silently tell him I was waiting.

"Because… you'd be risking your life over something as stupid as not wanting to live with me until after initiation."

"You think I'm being difficult because I _don't_ want to live with you?" I laughed, taking a step closer to him, enjoying the way his eyelids lowered, and his eyes darkened. When he nodded, I smiled wickedly at him, continuing towards him until I was centimeters away from him. "I'm not the one fighting the attraction, babe." I murmured softly, looking up at him from under my eyelashes. He swallowed roughly, his hands twitching at his sides until he clenched them tightly. I smiled, stepping away from him. "But it's okay. You've made it more than clear that it's never going to happen."

"God damn you, Lo." He snarled, before I felt his hand on my arm, pulling me towards him roughly, but at the same time mindful of my injuries. My eyes snapped up to look at him in surprise, but before I could even say anything his lips were on mine. I gasped, pulling back slightly but he chased me, slipping his tongue into my mouth. Once over the surprise, I let out a low moan kissing him back, running my hands over his shoulders to his neck where I held on tightly in case he decided to end this kiss. His own hands roamed over my back in a light caress, one staying there to press me against him and the other gliding up to the back of my neck to hold me still as he ravished my mouth.

He was pressed so tightly that I felt his arousal as he rocked into me and I just about lost it. I reached up to the neck of his shirt and ripped the material until I could pull it off him. That just seemed to turn him on even more because he let out a growl, wrapping his hands around my thighs and picking me up. "God damn you, Lo." He repeated, his voice low and raspy, as he looked up at me.

I laughed, lowering my head down to kiss down his neck, biting, licking and sucking until his hands tightening their grip on my legs. "I'm sorry." I murmured lowly. "Am I making this difficult for you."

"Yes you are." He ground out before lowering me down onto the floor. "You're an initiate and I am an instructor, this is against the rules."

"Yet you don't mind ignoring them." I retorted, not really paying attention to what he was saying since I was too busy checking out his shirtless body. Jesus this man was ripped. Perfect six pack, large biceps, but not overly large. I let out a moan when I saw the muscles in his forearms, is veins pronounced in that deliciously attractive way.

Eric let out a pain filled moan, his mouth attaching to my neck. I gasped, my hands holding his head to me as I arched into him. His hands ran up my sides, making me shiver. My felt my eyes slip shut, feeling him guide us back to the couch.

"Ow!" I yelped, my eyes opening when I felt his hands tighten on injured my side.

"Shit, sorry." He murmured against my neck, moving his hand up and down on softly to sooth the pain.

"I'm fine." I grumbled, annoyed that I just ruined the mood. It was hard enough to get Eric alone to get him to lose his walls, and the moment I did boom my injuries ruin it. But before I could continue to curse Peter and Drew any further, someone started pounding on his door. Neither of us jumped, simply turned to look at the door mildly surprised.

"What now?" He grumbled, picking up the hoodie and helping me into it before going to answer the door. He threw it open, and almost got punched in the face by Zeke. "What?!"

"It's one of the initiates. Edward, he's been stabbed in the eye." I felt my jaw drop in surprise. Edward? He was a nice guy, ranked first and according to the talk from the dauntless leaders, had a lot of potential;.

"Do they know who did it?" I asked pushing past Eric, to look at Zeke. He looked down at me for a second, doing a double take to focus on the bruise on my face. "Yes I know I look beautiful with this shade of purple coloring my face, now answer me."

"No, but I heard the stiff say something about Peter." Of fucking course. With Edward out of the way, he was first now. I looked back at Eric but he had a straight face, not giving away what he was thinking.

"We can't know that for sure until after Edward is treated. There are no cameras inside the dorm, so only he can tell us who did it."

"Of course, that fucking dick head is never going to get caught doing anything at this rate." I snapped, stalking past Zeke to head out to check up on my friends. I ignored Eric's annoyed voice calling after me and instead rushed through the halls towards the dorms.

When I reached out hall, I saw that the lights were on and Four was outside talking to some other dauntless member. When he caught sight of me he stopped in the middle of whatever he was saying and headed towards me with a determined look. "Four I heard what happened, is Edward going to be okay? Are my friends okay?" I rushed out in one breath, honestly concerned. Edward wouldn't be able to continue initiation anymore, but at least he would have his girlfriend Myra. Everyone knew she wouldn't make it; she was literally ranked last.

"Edward was taken to Erudite and your friends are fine." He said curtly once he was a few inches of space between us. I stumbled back, taken aback by his attitude change.

"Is everything okay?" I asked slowly, not knowing why the hell he was acting so cold towards me all of a sudden. We were never best friends but we got along fine.

He stared back at me, his eyes scanning my face for a second before he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. I raised an eyebrow when I caught sight of the watch, but it fell once I focused on the shiny, high-tech screen. My hand dropped to my front pocket where I had placed it early, but all I felt was the ripped material of what was left over of my pocket. I shut my eyes tightly, racking my tired brain for a way of out this but I kept coming up blank. After I had arrived at dauntless and realized that the watches weren't like the sleek one I had, I decided to hide it in fear of it catching someone's attention.

"I can explain." My voice came out scratchy, my eyes opening to meet his brown ones.

"You can start with telling me what the message says." He said holding the watch out for me. Nodding my head, I numbly reached out to take the watch, but he held on tight. "And don't think just because I'm giving it back means you can pull one over me." He said lowly, and for a second I realized my mistake. Four wasn't as harmless as I thought he was. He could be just as deadly as Eric, and I should have realized that when I learned of his number one rank.

"I promise you I am not the enemy." I whispered, my eyes darting to the dorms where I could hear people bustling around. Looking back at him, I held my breath as I waited for him to let go. It took a while, but he did, slowly. I let out the breath I was holding and tapped the screen to open the message.

 _'_ _Four can be trusted. He knows something's up with Erudite and Dauntless. Bring him to CTF.'_

My mouth parted open in surprise, checking the message again just in case I misunderstood. When it stayed the same, I looked up at Four with an anxious expression. "I can explain, really, but we need to do this in private, or else we could both die." I whispered furiously, already hearing Eric's voice echoing through the halls, no doubt looking for me to drag me back to his apartment. " _No one can know_." I hissed, looking back nervously not wanting Eric to question what I was doing with Four. He stared at me, as if trying to see whether he should trust me or not, while I kept glancing back as the sound of Eric's voice got louder. I turned back to look at Four, my gaze desperate. "I know you know Erudite is up to something, and I can help you prove it. Shit I can help you stop it before it's too late."

Faster than I could blink, he had me by the arm, dragging me with him past the dorms, to another hallway that held a stairway. He continued to drag me up it, and various other hallways before we reached the residential area. We were a hall away from where Eric's apartment was, when he stopped at a large black door. Pulling out a keycard from his pocket, much like the one Eric had, he swiped it harshly before he threw the door open and pushed me in.

Stumbling in, I couldn't help but scowl at him before walking further in. The first thing I saw were the words, 'Fear God Alone' painted on a black wall. Below it, the rest of the wall was covered by a sheet, and that peeked my curiosity. I moved towards it, reaching to pull the sheet back and I couldn't help but gasp at what I saw.

My hand was snatched back, letting the white sheet fall back, but I had already gotten the gist of what was behind it. I turned back to Four who was glaring harshly at me but the tears in my eyes startled him. "How many has she killed?" I whispered brokenly. I had known that Jeanine had started hunting them down, and had most likely killed some, but I hadn't ever imagined that there would have been that many. There had to be a dozen names and pictures on that wall.

"More than I'd like to admit." He finally said, glancing back at the sheet covered wall.

"You're "divergent"." I questioned with air quotes before wiping the tears from my eyes as I examined him. He tensed, jaw clenching.

"Why'd you say it like that?" He asked rather than answer me. I let out a sigh, rubbing my forehead not knowing how to deal with this.

"Because there is no such thing as Divergence." I finally answered, wincing because that just made it more complicated to explain.

"Excuse me?" He gave me the 'WTF' face and I raised my hands to stop him for a minute.

"Listen, it's tough to explain, and my brother is much better at explaining all of this than me. But for him to come here I need to send a message." I raised the watch that was still in my hand.

"No." He snapped, reaching out to snatch the watch form me, but I jumped out of the way.

"Listen to me!" I yelled, forcing him to pause. "I get it you don't trust me, but you have to. It's going to sound crazy but everything I tell you is true." I took a deep breath, before meeting his eyes. "I'm from outside the wall."

"What?" He straightened, eyes wide.

"You heard me. I'm from outside the wall, where there is a compound where other people have set up camp for the Bureau of Genetic Warfare. My real name is Willow Rawlins, and my brother's real name is Forrest Rawlins. Please let me contact him so we can explain this to you."

"If you double cross me…" He growled, eyes narrowed.

"You have permission to kill me." I said seriously, silencing him. He nodded, and I wasted no time in sending an SOS to Michael, telling him to send Forrest immediately to Four's apartment. Once I was done I handed the watch back to Four, not wanting to give him any more reason to doubt me.

He took it, flipping it over and over to examine it closely. He looked almost in awe of it. "What kind of technology is this?"

"Oh I wouldn't really be able to tell you much about it other than it's the latest technological development by the top scientist in the Bureau. Forrest knows more about that I do, I worked mostly in weaponry and combat, despite what my father wanted." Before he could respond, Four jumped, looking down at the watch curiously, before handing it to me. I read it quickly before handing it back. "Forrest should be here soon."

"How can you read that so easily?" He asked his curiosity overriding his current distrust of me.

I snorted, taking a seat on his couch. "It took years for me to master Morris Code." His eyes widened in recognition. "I see you've heard about it." I smiled, patting the space next to me.

"I've read about it but I've never found a book so that I could learn it."

"Forrest forced me to learn it so we could message back and forth without our father knowing what we were talking it about. It came in handy when planning for us to come here."

"Why did you come here? Hell how did you even pull it off?"

"Abnegation serum, it erases people's memories and one of my dear friends used it to erase certain memories and implant new ones into the right people." I shrugged as if it were no big deal. "And before you go lecturing me about it, it was done to protect your city."

"From Erudite?"

"Yes, we learned that Jeanine was hunting the "divergents" and no one at the Bureau was going to put a stop to it, so we decided to step in." I frowned knowing that I was probably confusing him but I really wasn't the person to explain it. I'd probably confuse him so much, everything would seem like a lie and he wouldn't believe me. "It probably doesn't make sense, but I promise it will once Forrest gets here."

"Why can't you explain it?" I opened my mouth to answer him only to hear a noise out in the balcony. We both sprung up, ready to fight. I relaxed when the setting sun shun over the familiar features.

"She isn't authorized to explain anything because she sucks at trying telling a story." Forrest drawled after her swung the balcony door open.

"Forrest." I breathed throwing myself into his arms, completely forgetting that I was injured. "Ow!" I moaned, pulling away to hold onto my side.

"What the hell happened to you?!" My twin brother snarled, his head snapping up to glare at Four, somehow coming to the conclusion that he had done this.

"I had a mild disagreement with some fellow initiates, nothing I couldn't handle." I waved him off. "Can we please just focus on catching Four up on everything before you go bat shit crazy?" I pleaded as I stumbled over to the couch.

Four and Forrest were completely ignoring me as the two were too busy sizing each other up. Both were the same height of over 6 feet tall and lean muscles. Finally, they both introduced themselves and took a seat, albeit somewhat tensely.

"There's really no easing into this discussion." Forrest sighed, running his hand through his curly hair. "So I'm just going to jump right into it, if you get confused along the way, stop me and ask questions. We'll answer them to the best of our ability."

At Four's nod, Forrest began telling him the basic. "We come from a compound outside the wall, a few miles out north, where scientists and other people have set up camp to run the Bureau of Genetic Warfare. They are the ones who are technically responsible for the war that wiped out most of the world population to begin with. The scientist that ran the Bureau all those years ago, decided to play God, altering and creating 'pure' genes. They did it in order to get rid of the bad genes; the ones that thought were responsible for characteristics such as greed, malice, hatred, etc." He sighed heavily, leaning back into the couch, throwing an arm across my shoulders. "But it went wrong, people who couldn't afford to get rid of their 'bad' genes tried to overthrow the ones who could pure. It was basically a battle between the rich and the poor and it led to a nuclear war that destroyed the world. Few people remained after that, including a few scientists from the Bureau who had been sent to bunkers for their protection."

I took over from here. "They started experimental cities to recover the peace, to produce a new generation with naturally pure genes, instead of genetically altering genes to make them pure." I gestured around his apartment. "This city, is one of the only successful ones, the factions creating some sort of organized peace."

"So we're some kind of experiment, being manipulated by you?" he sounded angry and I honestly couldn't blame him. My father was manipulating them all, not caring about any of them, except the ones that were 100% "divergent".

"No, there is no such thing as Genetic purity." I said seriously.

"The experiment that first started this Genetic purity bullshit, did in fact alter genes. But not in the way he thought; he enhanced certain genes that are responsible for certain characteristics. The same values each of your factions believe in." Forrest spoke as if he was reciting from memory, and it was slightly unnerving. Looking over at Four, I could see that he was confused.

"You lost me."

"When he enhanced these genes, he managed to balance out characteristics within a person. Meaning that the person had an almost perfect aptitude to all five factions."

"But you just said that Genetic Purity didn't exist." Four's eyebrows furrowed even further.

"Because it doesn't. The experiment wasn't perfect. The person didn't have a _perfect_ aptitude as it was first stated when the experiment started. The scientist didn't tell the public that 67.6% of the person's aptitude was strongest for three factions. The last percentage was divided evenly between the last two."

"Just like a divergent." Four murmured.

"Exactly, but the experiment didn't work on everyone. Some people just couldn't adapt to certain characteristics and if they did the percentage was so low it couldn't really count into their personality. Hence why the aptitude test that you all take when you are 16 does not really work to detect divergence unless they show a high aptitude for more than two factions. They usually add up to 60% or higher."

"Then why lie?"

"Because everything our father has preached about pure and damaged genes is pure bullshit. It's just some crap that the Bureau created for the rich and powerful, another thing for them to believe that they were better and more superior to those below them." I laughed bitterly. "What he really wants is the Bureau to control the rest of what remains of the world. He wants to create this false sense of Genetic purity so that he can continue with these experiments to _make_ everyone pure so that they bow down to them."

"So you came here to help us how?" Four asked, looking up at me.

"By destroying the program our father uses to control you. He has full control of the cameras and your computer systems. If he wants to shut you down he will. If he wants to kill you all he will. And if we destroy the program he can no longer get to you guys."

"What if he comes with his army to get back control?" Four countered.

"He'd be outnumbered." Forrest answered easily. "The people he works with, those that are considered pure, are only a handful of people compared to how many "damaged". He wouldn't have an army to come for you."

"And once we take over the Bureau, then we won't bother you again. We'll leave you to live peacefully as you have for so long. We'll even reveal that Divergents are not a threat, or if you wish we can remake the program so that divergence is not detected and the aptitude results will be the faction with the highest percentage." I offered with a smile.

"We can talk about that later, after we deal with Jeanine's plan. If we can't stop her than we can't stop our father." Forrest said it in a way that left no room for argument, and since Four seemed to be overwhelmed with the new information, he hooked on to something much simpler.

"What do you know about what she's planning?" He asked eagerly.

"Yes, Jeanine has trusted Caleb with developing a serum to control the divergents. Meanwhile, she trusted me to oversee the program and serum that she created to control all of Dauntless. She plans on using them as her own army to attack abnegation in order to retrieve a video that was left by the founders of the city, the people who volunteered to willingly participate in the experiment. She believes it is a video that will prove that the Divergents are dangerous and how to control them, but it's the complete opposite." Forrest said.

"That's what they've been bringing into the compound." Four said as if it all made sense. "I've been watching them for weeks preparing for something."

"How are we going to get rid of the serum? And how the hell are we supposed to fight the dauntless that are loyal to her? She no doubt has brainwashed the dauntless leaders with false promises of power and who knows what else."

"Max is in on it because she promised to make Dauntless her second in command as they take control of the rest of the city. Eric on the other hand she's had brainwashed since he was a child. He was supposed to succeed her, but his aptitude came back with results of Dauntless, but Michael has rerun his test and it shows. That he has a 54% aptitude for Dauntless, 15% Erudite, 14% Candor and the remaining 17% is divided between Amity and Abnegation." Forrest stared directly at me as he said this.

"Why are you telling me this?" I snapped, already having a feeling as to why.

"You know why, Lo." He sighed, pulling me close to plant a kiss on my forehead. "And I don't like it. But we have more important matters to deal with. I was going to tell you during capture the flag but I guess now's as good as ever."

"You have a plan?" Four asked.

"Yes, I can't access the dauntless computer system." I watched as my brother pulled out something from his pocket. "I need you to search for this program somewhere behind the firewalls. If you do don't try anything or it might set off the alarms. Send all the information you get from it through the secure messaging system Michael set up for us. All the info is in there." He handed the folded papers to Four who nodded in understanding. "Jack, Michael and I are planning on destroying the serums they have somewhere towards the middle of the second part of initiation. I will have a batch of harmless serums that will pose as the 'back up' serums that will replace the batch lost."

"How are you going to pull that off?" I questioned.

"We're going to attack Dauntless and make it look like an attack from Factionless." He threw me a nonchalant smile that had me questioning my twin brothers mentality. But I knew that if there were any other way they would have found it by now.

"You know you don't have to go blowing up everything when things started getting difficult."

"Says the girl that blew up our kitchen."

"The fucking chicken parm wasn't cooperating with me!" I snapped throwing myself at Forrest to punch the shit out of him.


	11. Chapter 11

**I am so sorry I've been gone so long, but i honestly hit a writers block and for a second i had no idea how i wanted the next chapter to play out. Literally rewrote it five times before I got it the way i wanted it.**

 **Thank you to all the reviews and i love how you guys are enjoying it so much. Next chapter will have a bit of action and it will (hopefully) have Eric and Lo.**

 **Chapter 11:**

I let out a deep sigh as I watched the sunset from my perch on the roof ledge. The last thing that Forrest had told me before he left was buzzing through my head and I couldn't seem to stop thinking about it.

 _"_ _Jeanine was suspicious about us; she was searching through our files but thanks to Michael it was hard to tell that it was fake." He was so calm about it that it threw me off for a second, before I narrowed my eyes at him._

 _"_ _If she was so suspicious why are you one of her most trusted?" I asked with my arms cross over my chest. The bitch was smart, and if she suspected him she probably wants to keep him close to monitor him. How he manages to sneak out of Erudite without her knowing is beyond me._

 _"_ _I think it's because she wants to keep a close eye on me." He shrugged leaning against the roof, looking out to the crumbling city. He'd told me that this spot didn't have any cameras so Eric wouldn't be suspicious that I hadn't been caught on camera. "But so far she seems impressed with us. Dauntless reports all results from the initiates to her. She's impressed with you, maybe not your attitude which causes all the point deductions but she's believe there's potential in you. Like she saw potential in Eric."_

 _"_ _You wouldn't have anything to do with that would you?" I asked suspiciously, recalling the time when I had run into him and Jeanine. He'd told her '_ I told you she would be a great asset to Dauntless _'._

 _"_ _Of course, I'm trying to get her to trust you enough that they include you into the plan. She reveals certain information only to Dauntless, and it would be an advantage for us if you could fill in the blanks in the information I get." He looked annoyed that he didn't know something. But that was how my brother worked. He was always one step ahead of everything, but with Jeanine withholding information, it was hard for him to be. So it must be frustrating if the scowl on his face was anything to go by._

 _"_ _How's that working out for you?" I laughed, turning my back to the view, and facing the door that lead back to the Dauntless compound._

 _"_ _She wants to take a look at your fear landscape before she makes any final decisions, but by then it might be too late." He grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. He looked like a petulant child and it made me smile._

 _"_ _Don't worry, you'll figure something out, you always do." He smiled down at me and ruffled my hair affectionately._

A loud crashing sound startled me out of my thoughts. I turned my head slightly to see a furious Eric striding across the roof towards me. "This is where you've been this whole fucking time?"

"Actually I tried sneaking out of the compound to get to Erudite to try to talk to Boyce about Edward, but Four caught me." I shrugged, turning back to watch the last of the setting sun. "He told me I need to cool down and told me about this place." It was the cover story we had come up with. And if Eric was up here it meant that Four had gone to inform him where I was so he could come and get me. I looked sideways at Eric, noting that he was glaring down at me. "He said he'd give me a while to get myself together, but if I took too long he'd send you to find me."

"He did, but he failed to mention your little stunt." He snarled, and my lips twitched.

"I figured you'd find out eventually because of the video feeds, so there was no point in avoiding it." I shrugged once more, before turning to fully face him. "Well boss, you found me. Now what? You gonna drag me back to your apartment or are you going to let me go back to the dorms?"

"My apartment, I already had your friends pack up your things." He indicated to a back duffle bag that I hadn't noticed he'd drop by the roof door. "I'm not letting you anywhere near Peter until I'm sure you won't kill him."

I let out a bark of laughter, before sending him a cold smirk. "I'm not a coward like him. If I was going to kill him, I wouldn't do it while he was defenseless."

"I know you wouldn't, but when you did get your chance with him, he'd make sure you got caught. Then you'd be the one in trouble, not him. So I want to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't do something stupid."

"Are you just saying all of this to take my mind off the fact that hiding away in your apartment isn't actually about keeping Peter safe, but actually keeping me safe?" I raised an eyebrow in questioning, hands on my hips.

"What makes you think I give a shit what happens to you, initiate?" He asked calmly. I really hated his calm indifference act. It pissed me off to the point where I wanted to throw him off this roof.

"You forget, _boss_ ," I snarled. "You've made your intentions more than obvious, even if you do fight it." I turned, marching up to the bag, picking it up and waiting for him to catch up. When he reached to take it from me I slapped his hand away with a vicious glare. He glared back but didn't try to do it again, instead he led me back to his apartment. Turns out the other door was a spare room, with its own bathroom, something I was beyond relieved for. My breath whooshed out of my lungs when I bent forward to set my bag down, my side protesting in pain. I heard a soft thud, which I discovered was the pain pills the doc had given me. Eric had thrown it on the bed, no doubt knowing I was in pain.

I didn't even bother to pretend I wasn't in pain, and instead snatched the bottle and took it with me to the bathroom. I left the door open as I picked up the cup that was on the sink and filled it with water. I felt him step up to the doorway, but neither of us spoke. I focused on popping two pills and leaning against the sink praying it would kick in soon so I could take a shower without crying.

"You're wrong you know." He finally spoke, forcing me to look at him. He looked mad, but then again he was always mad at something.

"About?"

"Caring about you. I don't." he said firmly, but it felt as if he was trying to convince himself. "I hate you." I flinched, the words hitting me like a ton of bricks. And I stupidly felt like crying which pissed me off. The thought made me laugh because it seemed like I was turning into the female version of Eric; pissed off for every single little shit.

"Glad to know the feelings mutual then." I murmured softly with a charming smile sent his way that threw him off. "What? You thought I was going to cry? Try to convince you that you're wrong?" I laughed again, my head thrown back as tears fell my eyes but I forced myself to breathe and push them back. "But I don't need to convince you about anything." I steeled my back for what I was about to say. "You do care, and you _hate_ that you do." I whispered, running my eyes over him. "But I'm not gonna fight until you admit that. Because I'm tired of these games Eric. You know how I feel; I'm attracted to you but I fucking hate you. I hate the man you've allowed yourself to become. Cruel, cold and heartless."

His eyes blazed at my words. "What did you say?" His voice was low, dangerous.

"You heard me. You think you need to keep up this act that shuts everyone out and project this heartless bastard image because you want people to respect you the way they respect Four." Before I could even say anything else, I was thrown against the wall, pinned there while he glared down at me with so malice and hate I faltered for a second.

"You don't know shit of what you're talking about initiate." I glared right back, shoving hard against him, only managing to put enough room for me to slip out of his hold.

"Like hell I don't." I snapped, putting much needed space between us. "You're mad because you came second to Four. You lost your fight to Four, and let me guess why." I ground out lowly. "Because you underestimated him and he used that too his advantage and beat you."

"Shut up!" I was suddenly airborne as I flew out of the bathroom onto the floor of the bedroom. I twisted my body to make sure I landed on my good side to minimize the pain. I groaned loudly while I slumped onto the floor face first. I didn't bother getting up to defend myself from Eric because he wasn't going to fight me, the only reason he reacted the way he did was because I touched a sore subject.

I heard his footsteps getting closer until I finally felt his body heat. I didn't flinch when he reached out to me because I felt his hesitance. I let him turn me around carefully and for once in the few weeks I knew him I saw fear and concern in his bright eyes. "Do you feel better now?" I murmured softly, not mad. I knew he was going to act out, though I hadn't expected him to actually send me flying.

"Lo… I'm sorry." Came his gruff response.

"Don't be. If it had been you saying shit like that to me I probably would have punched you." I smiled, moving to get up only to wince in pain. He immediately scooped me up carefully and laid me down on the bed.

"You're right." He muttered softly. I didn't speak, I just let him get it out. "I do care about you. More than I should and I fucking hate how weak it makes me. I'm not just your instructor, I'm your leader. I shouldn't allow you to back talk me or undermine my decisions, but I can't punish you the way I would if it had been anyone else. And when I threw you," His faced became pained. "I was _scared_. I was scared that I hurt you."

"You didn't." I said softly, lifting my hand to caress his face. "Eric you're a strong, smart and capable leader. You don't need to rule with terror to get the respect you deserve." I said softly.

"I can't change who I am." He said coldly and I laughed, leaning forward to kiss him softly. I ran my fingers through his hair as the kiss deepened, loving the way he relaxed under my touch.

I broke the kiss, leaning back when he tried to chase my lips. "I'm not asking you to. I'm just asking that you be true to yourself. Don't believe all the bullshit Max tells you about instilling fear into the members in order to be respected. Because I don't respect Max, I never have."

"How can you say that when you don't know him or what he's done for this faction?"

"I do. I met him years ago when he consulted my father for new and more efficient weapons. He was a cruel man. The only reason no one has ever spoken out to him is because they're scared of him. I had a friend a year older than me who worked on a project about serums with his mother. I saw him all the time in the labs whenever I decided to help my mother instead of my father." I remembered the boy clearly, though I had never met him. I had observed him for weeks after one of the observers in the Bureau suspected he was divergent. "He was running tests on the fear landscape to make it better. Something went wrong with the simulation and it started a fight between him and Max. It was broken up before anything serious happened, but Max had accused him of being Divergent in front of everyone. Then three days later the boy went missing."

It was the truth and I knew it because I had seen it; Max had told Jeanine he suspected he was Divergent. They had taken him in for testing and when he tested positive, Max shot him execution style. My own father could have stopped it, could have sent someone to retrieve him like they had for George, Tori's brother and Amar. But he didn't even try. He didn't save him because there was no benefit to him if he did.

Eric didn't meet my eyes, and I knew he knew that what I said was true. He had followed the same order from Jeanine dozens of times before. But I could see the beginnings of regrets in his eyes before they hardened. "If he was the one responsible for the boy's death then he was doing his job."

"His job? Following Erudite's orders to kill all divergents because they're a threat to the city?" I scoffed, pushing off the bed to stand by the window. Glancing back at Eric I caught the guarded look in his eyes and rolled my own. "What? Did you think I didn't know about it? Please I came from Erudite, my own mother worked on special serums Jeanine asked her to. You know why they were special? Because they were new serums meant to signal out Divergents during the aptitude test."

"Then you know that Divergents are a danger to the city." He said robotically.

"I don't believe in Divergence." I murmured lowly. "What does Divergent even mean, Eric? How is it that a person can be called Divergent and suddenly be a danger to us?"

"It means that they cannot confirm to one faction, which makes them a liability."

"And how is that a bad thing?" I asked incredulously. "Haven't you ever thought that maybe none of us could actually belong to one faction? Think about it. Dauntless soldiers have to be smart like Erudite in order to come up with strategical plans, Amity are like Abnegation because they both are peaceful and want to help others." Before I could continue on, Eric jumping up, grabbing me by my shoulders and shaking me lightly.

"Shut up!" He snarled. "You need to shut up, Lo. Don't you understand that you could get yourself killed if the wrong person hears you?!"

"Like Jeanine? If she ordered you to kill me would you?" I raised my chin, preparing myself for his answer.

"She won't, because you're going to keep your mouth shut and act the way a dauntless soldier should. You follow orders, don't talk back and don't call attention to yourself." And with that he stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

For the rest of the night I stayed holed up in my new room, not wanting to go out to face Eric. I had done a dangerous thing, practically outed myself as a divergent to Jeanine's right hand man. A man that ruthlessly killed anyone so much as suspected of being Divergent.

The very thought of him selling me out to Jeanine had be pacing practically the entire night. It was around 4 in the morning when I decided to shower and change before sneaking out of the apartment. I had no idea what I was going to do or go because there was no training today in light of the events from last night. My attempted attack and the whole Edward thing.

Since it was too early for anyone to actually be awake I decided to walk around, memorize the part of dauntless I didn't know. Had I done my job correctly and known my way around I probably would have had a better advantage when I was attacked. Growling out in frustration I wrapped my arms around myself. Dauntless always seemed to be cold, but today it seemed as if I was walking through a freezer, so I was thankful for the black hoodie and sweatpants I had thrown on.

"What are you doing up this early? It's not even dawn." I didn't jump at the sound of his voice. There was no more reason for me to fake anything around Four anymore. I had heard the approaching footsteps, so I had prepared myself to face anyone.

"I couldn't sleep." I said honestly, turning my head to look at him. "I'm exhausted, don't get me wrong cause training hasn't been a walk in the park, but I can't sleep." I sighed, running a hand through my curls.

He regarded me carefully. "Want to go for a run?" My head snapped up to look at him curiously.

"As in, outside the compound?" I asked hopefully. We hadn't gone on a run outside the compound since the first week of initiation, and I was starting to feel the effects of the being cooped up. Initiates weren't allowed out of Dauntless without the company of a full member.

He laughed, walking forward to knocking his shoulder against mine. "Yeah come on."

I skipped happily after him, not bothering to wonder why he was awake at this hour until we reached the doors that led outside. "Hey why are you up so early anyway?"

"I couldn't sleep either." He admitted after we had stepped out of the compound and headed for the gates. "Especially with trying to wrap my mind around everything you told me."

"I can't really blame you." I mumbled kicking a rock with the toe of my sneaker. "I always thought that what my father was doing to you was unfair. But you know I never really thought it was that bad. I mean you guys had everything you need, you lived in peace which isn't something the other cities have. Most have been destroyed because the people couldn't stop fighting amongst themselves."

"But our lives are essentially being controlled by Bureau." He whispered as we went through the gates.

"And he likes manipulating you guys too." I winced, wondering if now was a good time to bring it up.

"What do you mean?" He looked down at me. Biting my lip, I started a light jog, following the same route we had done during training. I knew he was following and eventually he would catch up with me and I'd have to answer.

"What aren't you telling me, Willow." I looked up at him in surprise. I hadn't been called that in so long it felt weird, but it still made me smile. But then I remembered what I was trying to avoid.

"Amar didn't die." I winced, not looking at him. Instead I focused on my breathing technique as our pace slowly increased. When he stayed quiet I almost looked at him, but before I could he spoke.

"That's impossible. I know he is dead and I know Eric is the one that killed him. He knew Amar was Divergent and it's his job to get rid of them for Jeanine." He said fiercely. The fact that he blamed Eric surprised me enough that I almost tripped. I had no idea how he got to that conclusion, but it pissed me off.

I had no idea why I was upset about this considering Eric could be planning to hand me over to Jeanine. Maybe he wasn't, but it was hard to tell because he was just so confusing. It was like one minute he wanted me and then the next I was nothing but his initiate.

"The bureau staged his death and brought him back to the compound… Same as George, Tori's brother." I had learned Georgie was Tori's brother a while back when I went back to talk to her. We had become good friends and because I had told her I was 'Divergent' she trusted me.

Because I refused to look at Four I almost missed the fact that he had stopped jogging completely. By the time I stopped and turn to look at him I was a few feet away from him. "He's been alive this whole time?" He asked huskily, looking at me with dark eyes. I didn't speak until I closed most of the distance between us.

"I'm sorry Four, I don't know the details as to why my father saved him and George, just that he did. He chooses specific people to save when he knows their lives are in danger." I watched the pain in his eyes, cursing my father for manipulating these people.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I only found out about him being your instructor when I was going over files to prepare to enter the city. So when I first met you I wasn't going to just tell you he was alive; I would have blown my cover."

"What about after you told me everything?" He snapped, eyes blazing with anger.

"Because you could barely process everything we told you! Did you just expect us to throw the whole "Amar's alive" bomb onto you?" I ran a hand through my hair as I started pacing. "Come on Four, I know what that the fact that my father is basically controlling you all must suck. He's trying to instigate a war between the factions and when that happens the Factionless are going to step it." I stopped to look at him. "Michael's been monitoring the city for months to help us prepare for our infiltration. We had to speed up the process to avoid this city from falling apart like the rest of the other 'experiments'. I _don't_ want any more people to die for all this pure and damaged gene bullshit, and I most certainly didn't want to add more stress onto you because you don't deserve it! None of you do." The last part was barely a whisper.

"I'm sorry." Was the only thing he said.

"No… I'm sorry… that I didn't stop this sooner." When he nodded my shoulders sagged from the relief when the weight on my shoulders seemed to have lessened. But of course it didn't last long.

My watch started going crazy, blaring an alarm that I recognized all to easily. "What the hell is wrong with it? Shut it off before you attract the factionless!" Four hissed, his eyes scanning the area frantically.

"We're about to have bigger problems than the factionless." I muttered, pressing a button on my watch only to watch a message flash on the tiny screen. It took me only a minute to decode it.

 _"_ _Commander Wilcox found you out. He's in the city with four others. They have weapons. They will shoot Four, and I don't know what they'll do to you. Get out now. I'll get Forrest."_

"Shit, shit, shit!" I cursed while typing back a message to Michael. He had to figure out whether Wilcox had told my father whatever it was that he knew. Because if my dad knew what the hell was going on than the mission was over before it really even started.

"Lo what the hell is going on."

"My father's Commander found out where Forrest and I really are and followed us here." He cursed, turning in a slow circle looking at the surrounding area.

We were closer to the more rundown buildings, most of them covered in moss and lichens. There were also hundreds of places for them to hide in to ambush us. Acting fast I grabbed Four and dragged him after me as I tried to take a short cut back to Dauntless.

"You have to get back to Dauntless, get inside and say we were ambushed by factionless and we got split up." I said in a rush, keeping my eyes open as we ran through the ruined city.

"What about you?" He asked trying to pull me to a stop, and if I hadn't been training with men bigger than him he would have succeeded.

"I can handle myself, and I need to see Forrest."

"What if they're armed?"

"They're always armed." I answered easily, turning left sharply, only to come to a sudden stop. "Fuck."


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, since I was gone for so long, I am putting up two chapters up in two days to make up for it! And head's up there is a steamy scene at the end. I'm new at it so please don't judge me if it sucks T.T**

 **But please enjoy and I will try to get another chapter up in the next couple of days!**

 **Chapter 12:**

"Lo!" A voice shouted over the roar in my ears. I could hear them calling out to me in the distance, but I was too busy trying to staunch the flow of blood from the wound on my left shoulder. It was only a flesh wound, but it was deep enough that the blood was flowing steadily without any signs of slowing. Letting out a growl of annoyance, I ripped my sleeves off and used them to wrap up the wound.

"Wait until I get my fucking hands on you, Wilcox." I muttered into the empty room of a random building I had run into for cover. Four and I had been split up, so I had no idea where he was or if he was alive.

Letting out a frustrated growl, I banged my fist against the wall. Everything had gone so wrong.

 _"_ _Fuck." I muttered, stopping abruptly while simultaneously pushing Four behind me. Wilcox was standing front and center with a smug look on his face. He hadn't come with his entire team, instead only four of his most trusted men were with him. They weren't dressed in the normal standard special uniforms either. Instead they were in casual but easy to move in clothes, but they were packing some heavy arsenal._

 _"_ _We expected so much more from you Willow." He sighed pretending to be disappointed. The look in his eyes said otherwise. He had been waiting for the day Forrest and I stepped out of line enough that even our Father wouldn't be able to save us._

 _He's hated Forrest because he would succeed our father after he retires, and he's hated me because I threatened the one and only job my father entrusted him with. Because although my father hated that I preferred combat over science, even he couldn't deny that I was good; good enough to take over as the Commander someday._

 _"_ _And I expected more from my father." I answered smoothly, meanwhile trying to think back to the map of the city I had memorized, looking for a way out._

 _"_ _You don't know what you're talking about. And you are openly interfering with the Chicago Experiment."_

 _"_ _I'm not about to let innocent people die just to satisfy the bureaus curiosity." I snapped, shoving Four back when he tried to step forward._

 _He shook his head, looking at me as if I was a child who didn't know any better. "Just come with us Lo, we can talk about this."_

 _"_ _No, and you can tell my father that there's no way he can stop us." I growled nudging Four to go back the way we came. We could cut through the building we passed to avoid them until I could get him back safely to Dauntless. After that I'd figure out a way to deal with my father._

 _After a moment of watching me carefully, he answered casually. "I would if he actually knew you were here."_

"Dammit Lo, where are you!" Four's voice broke through my thoughts, sounding both irritated and concern. I almost laughed. Instead I picked myself up and staggered towards the door.

After his confession, I knew that Wilcox wasn't trying to take me back home, he was trying to kill Forest and I off. We were supposed to be in the fringe, and my father would never doubt his Commander if he reported he found us dead when he thought to check up on us. So I did the only thing I could do, I pretended to give myself up. It wasn't until I was close enough that I disarmed Wilcox, and opened fire. But the bastard had managed to recover from the blow I landed on his face, which had broken his nose, and managed to nick me with his hand gun.

I tried pulling the old rusted door open, but with the pain from my shoulder, I only managed to open it an inch. "Four!" I croaked, banging my hand on the door to get his attention. Seconds later his face popped up through the slight gap.

"Are you okay?" He asked urgently, easily opening the door.

"Peachy." I muttered noting that he had a machine gun in his hands. Good, because the handgun I had probably only had a couple more shots. "How many are down?"

"Two; one of the other two is injured, but not bad enough because he was with the other one tying to following me. I lost them but we have to get out of here." He raised to gun covering the way he came from and urged me to go the opposite way.

"You do realize we have to kill them right?" I asked grimly as I held my gun pointed to the ground but ready to shoot.

"Yeah." His jaw ticked so I knew he wasn't happy about this.

"If I was sure Wilcox wouldn't go back to tell my father where I am I wouldn't even bother." I try to justify the reason, but even to me it sounded weak. I didn't like having to kill, but it wouldn't be my first time either. Even if it was self-defense, I wasn't proud of doing it.

"I thought you were going to kill him because he's trying to kill you." His lips quirked up for a second before his face was stoic again.

"Yeah there's that too." I answered wryly. We didn't speak after that, just kept walking, and it was only until after we had turned down a couple hallways that I realized we were in an old hospital, from the time before the war. I remember them from the data files back at the bureau.

"You think this place has any supplies lying around to stitch up my arm?" I murmured looking through the rooms trying to determine if there was anything useful.

"Doubt it, and even if there were, I doubt it be sanitary. You'd probably end up getting a nasty infection." He answered offhandedly, his focus on covering us.

"I'm going to shoot his balls off." I muttered under my breath, walking quickly while checking the halls for danger at the same time. "As if I wasn't already a walking bruise." I swore I heard him laugh from behind me and I had a strong urge to flip him off.

When I saw the sign for an emergency exit I almost did a happy dance, but instead grabbed the back of Four's shirt and pulled him in that direction. He cursed me for the action but followed me anyways. "Quit complaining, I'm saving your life." I hissed, throwing the door open only to come face to face with a gun barrel.

Eyes widening in shock, I kicked Four to the side of the hallway where the second door was blocking him from view, while using the momentum to throw myself to the other, away from the line of fire just as a bullet whizzed through the space where my head had been. I raised my handgun seconds after I landed on the ground and shot the gun right out of Wilcox's hand. At the same time bullets from behind us hit the doors, barely missing Wilcox.

"Shit!" he cursed, stumbling back, ducking to the side arms over his head to protect himself. I followed after him, ignoring the bullets pelting the walls from behind me, knowing that Four was covering my back. The minute I stepped through the door frame, the gun was knocked out of my hands and I was shoved against the wall.

I growled, bringing my feet up and shoving hard against his chest. He stumbled back, and I didn't hesitate to tackle him to the ground. We rolled around trying to get the upper hand when I finally got on top and landed a few solid hits on his already messed up face. It was when the pain in my shoulder became unbearable that my movements slowed, and he managed to roll us over until I almost rolled down what had once been the stairs leading down.

I yelped when I went over, just barely managing to grab onto what was left of the banister. I let out a sharp cry when I felt the tug on my shoulder, cursing Wilcox to hell. Looking up at him he was struggling to get to his feet, facing where the gun was lying on the ground a few feet away.

Taking in a deep breath to steady myself for the pain, I started pulling myself up, swinging my legs up to the rest of the banister in order to use it as a makeshift ladder. Thank god it was sturdy or else I'd probably have fallen from moving around so much.

Once I had them up, I could stand up, easing the weight from my injured shoulder. But I still had to use that arm to pull myself all the way back off. By the time I pulled myself over the edge from where Wilcox had thrown me off, I was sweating profusely and he had finally gotten to his feet.

He didn't notice me, and instead was heading back toward where we had come from. He probably thought that I had fallen down to my death and was going back to check on his men or kill Four. It took all of my remaining strength to stand up, and grab him roughly from the back of his shirt and turn him back towards me.

His eyes lit up with surprise, but he was too slow to bring the gun up. Twisting his arm, I took back the gun and aimed it right at him. We stared at each other for several minutes, listening to the fighting going on just beyond the doors. "You aren't going to shoot me." He finally breathed, swaying slightly.

My eyes scanned his bloodied and bruised face, knowing that if I let him live he'd kill me in a heartbeat. And if by some miracle he didn't, he'd go to my dad and all this would have been for nothing. "You're wrong." I finally muttered just before I pulled the trigger. I didn't watch as his body slumped to the floor, instead I just stared at the wall blankly, trying to come to terms with what I had done.

I don't know how long I stood there, but I was shaken out of my stupor when the door slammed back open. My gun was up before I could even process anything. When my eyes focused, I met Four's dark brown eyes. He was sweating just as much as me and breathing hard, but was otherwise fine. "Are you okay?" I asked anyway, noting that my voice was husky.

"Fine. You?" he asked, his eyes falling on Wilcox.

"Peachy." I echoed my answer from before. "We gotta get rid of them."

"Leave it, by the time Dauntless soldiers find them they'll have been stripped of everything by the factionless."

"Not the weapons and whatever other shit that could give away the Bureau." I said robotically as I collected the other gun Wilcox carried in his ankle holster, his watch and radio. We did the same with the others before destroying and burning them. During the entire process Four kept watching me, almost as if expecting me to breakdown.

By the time we started walking back to Dauntless, the sun had completely risen, meaning that the day had gone from cool to scorching hot. About ten minutes into walking, a combination of irritation with the heat and Four's staring I finally snapped. "Is there something you want to say to me?" I turned to face him, only to notice his limp. "Were you shot?" I asked looking down at his leg.

"Yes, but it's a flesh wound. I don't even think it's still bleeding." He looked sideways at me. "If they're the best soldiers the bureau has then I understand why you weren't worried about them counter attacking us."

"Actually they aren't. But they're the ones that were easily manipulated by Wilcox." I laughed, bringing my hand up to rub around the wound on my shoulder to ease the pain.

"Are you really okay?" he asked me softly.

"I did what I had to do Four." I said firmly, looking away from him. "I don't enjoy killing people, but I know what my job is. I also knew that it would come to this when we decided to come here."

"Alright. By the way, so much for saving my life back there." I frowned at the sarcasm in his tone, knowing he was referring to when I had snapped at him that I was saving his life only to run into a lunatic holding a gun.

"We're alive aren't we?" I snapped back haughtily.

"Barely." He muttered before going quiet again. But after a while I started laughing like an idiot.

"You know you're actually a pretty cool guy, even though majority of the time you're mostly an ass, but you're okay." I commented still chuckling. "I used to wonder why Tris likes you. Didn't think you guys really had much to talk about either since you really aren't a talker." I mused, ignoring the fatigue that was just now settling in.

"Who says we talk?" He muttered coolly, but the blush working its way up his neck gave him away.

"Please, I know you two have something going on." I rolled my eyes, a smile playing on my lips. "It's cute, but you both were Abnegation, and it shows."

"What do you even know about the factions?" he snapped, looking irritated and embarrassed at the same time.

"A lot actually. I studied you guys for months, learning for the time we came here."

"You sound like a nose."

"Well I technically originated from Erudite." I teased, watching as his lips twitched. After that we enjoyed each other's silent company. But he broke it after a few minutes, clearly curious since he really wasn't much of a talker.

"What about you and Eric?" he looked bothered by this, which I guess was understandable. He didn't trust Eric, not that a lot of people really did.

"I don't know." I didn't even pretend to act like I didn't know what he was talking about. "He's confusing on many levels. But I think he likes me, at least enough to protect me from Jeanine."

"What do you mean?" he looked confused.

"I confronted him yesterday, brought up your rivalry and shit got ugly." I admitted. "He got really mad and we started going at each other, and I confronted him about the divergent. I think he thinks I'm one, cause he told me I need to shut up unless Jeanine finds out and I end up dead."

"You let him find you out?!" He snapped stopping in the middle of the road, looking livid. "What happens when he turns you in and you end up dead?!"

"I won't end up dead because he won't turn me in." I snapped back.

"And how the hell do you know that?!"

"Because he looked scared!" I yelled, finally letting my anger get the better of me. "Yeah he looked mad, but he looked scared. Scared for me." I whispered.

Four opened his mouth to talk, but the loud sound of a motor cut him off. We both turned to see a large truck speeding towards us. I blinked, looking over to Four who looked annoyed but not worried. I turned back to watch the vehicle slow down to a stop in front of us. Then a very pissed off Eric came out, and I let out a sigh knowing shit was about to hit the fan.

He took one look at me, then he turned to shoot a murderous glare at Four. "What the hell happened?!" He snarled.

"We were attacked by the factionless." He answered calmly, scowling at Eric.

"And why the hell were you two even doing out here?" he snapped, still glaring at Four as if this was all his fault. Deciding to take the heat of Four, I stepped forward, closer to Eric and answered.

"I couldn't sleep, and bumped into Four when he was going to go out for a run so I begged him to take me since we aren't allowed out without a member to supervise us." I answered easily, still rubbing my shoulder which was still bleeding.

"Were you shot?" Eric asked incredulously, walking over to inspect my shoulder.

"Yes, but it just grazed me."

"Doesn't look like just a graze." He snapped quietly, before scooping me up into his arms and carrying me back to the truck.

"I can walk perfectly fine!" I hissed, squirming to get him to put me down. "If anyone needs the princess treatment it's Four, he's the one limping!"

"But he doesn't look like he's about to pass out." He answered simply, dumping me into the backseat, and climbing in right after me. Four climbed into the passenger seat seconds after Eric closed the door. Afterwards he signaled the driver to head back to Dauntless.

"How many attacked you?"

"Five." Four answered back curtly.

"And what happened to them?"

"Dead." I said in a monotone, sagging back in the seat as I looked out the window, already dreading the conversation that was bound to happen the minute Eric and I were alone.

For once Eric didn't speak, instead took it up himself to take a look at the wound on my shoulder, muttering under his breath about wrapping me up in bubble wrap. I rolled my eyes at that and shoved his hand off of me.

"You're in luck, there's an Erudite doctor at the infirmary teaching our staff how to use the new shit they brought us. It's a foam that supposed to replace stitches." I made a random sound to show him I was listening but ended up dozing off.

When we arrived the Dauntless I was half asleep, so of course Eric carried me to the infirmary, Four following behind us. I pretended to be asleep to avoid any chance encounters with my friends on our way there. When we got there, the Erudite doctor was in deed there, and took the chance to use me as his teaching dummy.

They cleaned my wound they sprayed the foam Eric had mentioned directly onto it and I watched in amazement as the skin color foam merged with my skin to close the wound. "It will dissolve as your skin heels, and the pain should fade within the next 20 minutes or so." Then he handed me a couple packs of some liquid he told me would reenergize me and help me recover faster.

When Eric finally escorted me back to his apartment, I was feeling so much better, and my arm didn't even hurt anymore. "God that foam is a miracle worker." I groaned in appreciation. "Even the packs he gave me; I swear my side doesn't even hurt anymore." When he didn't answer I looked over at him to see his jaw ticking and realized he was mad.

I rolled my eyes and waited until we were inside his apartment to talk about it. Once the door closed behind us, he stalked past me and headed for his room. "Fine, asshole." I muttered trudging to my room and headed straight for the shower. I took my time, rinsing out the grim and blood from the day, before stepping out of the shower. Once I organized my wet curls so they wouldn't be tangled up and frizzy, I slipped on my underwear and then a long loos tank top that reached the middle of my thighs.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I had every intention of sleeping for the rest of the day, when I saw Eric sitting down on my bed, elbows on his knees and his head resting on his palm. He looked up, ready to say something only to stop midway to let his eyes roam over my legs and higher up to my chest were they stayed glued. I crossed my arms over them, completely aware that I wasn't wearing a bra.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" I hissed, not daring to move because I was suddenly afraid of what would happen if I did.

"I came to talk about why you left in the middle of the night to go out with Four." He spit out Four's name as if it burned his tongue just to say it, but his eyes were still as dark as they were before, and glued on me.

"I left because I needed to clear my head." I asked indignantly, but that was the wrong thing to say because he jumped to his feet and stalked closer to me. I backed up, raising my hands to hold him up, but I ended up backing into the wall with nowhere to go.

"So you went to Four?!" he snarled caging me against the wall with his large arms.

"No, I ran into Four when he was going on his run." I bit through clenched teeth. "And I asked him to take me."

"If you wanted to go on a run why didn't you come to me."

"Because I was trying to avoid you." I said quietly, watching his eyes fill with hurt. "You had gone ape shit crazy on me because of what I said about divergent, and you work for Jeanine to get rid of them. How was I supposed to know if you would or wouldn't kill me if she ordered you?" I whispered, voicing my doubts.

"I wouldn't because you aren't like _them_." He said just as quietly, his eyes swirling with so many emotions I could decipher them all.

"What if I was?" He stared at me a minute longer before smashing his lips against me. For a minute I let myself enjoy the feeling of him, before I reason came back to me. I tried to pull away, to get the answer I wanted from him, but he held on strong. I fought him, pushing at his chest until he was looking at me again, breathing hard from the intensity of the kiss. "Answer me Eric." There was no mistaking the pain in my voice.

He was silent for so long I felt my heart breaking in two, but then he looked straight into my eyes and answered me. "I wouldn't be able to kill you, Lo. But I need you not to be because I have no idea how to protect you if you were." He seemed so sincere that I couldn't help but believe him.

"You don't need to worry about me." I whispered against his lips, knowing he needed to hear that in order to relax. Slowly, he did, kissing me back softer than I ever thought was possible for someone like him.

"I hate you for making me feeling this way." He murmured against my lips, his hands running down my side to grab hold of my thighs and picking me up.

"Right back at ya, boss." I murmured biting his lower lip before sucking it into my mouth. He groaned, before slipping his tongue into my mouth, battling for dominance with my own. Eventually he won, deepening the kiss until I was dizzy from lack of oxygen.

I was so into the kiss, that I hadn't realized he had carried me out the room until he kicked his own door open. "Where are you taking me?" I sighed, tilting my head back as he rained kisses down my neck.

"To bed." He answered gruffly.

"Your bed." I clarified and he just grunted in agreement just before dumping me onto his bed. I let out a startled yelp, shifting myself up to my elbows to glare at him. He just sent me a wolfish grin that sent my heart into overdrive. He was honestly the sexiest man I had ever met, and I couldn't help but admire him from where I was laying. His muscled chest that was perfectly exhibited by his tight black t-shirt, his large shoulders that were just begging me to run my hands over them. When my gaze finally reached his face, I noticed that he was looking me over just as I had been him.

Unable to hold back any longer, I shifted onto my knees, moving closer to grab a fistful of his shirt and rip it over his head so I could admire his amazing body without his shirt in the way. Once it was off, I couldn't help my hum of appreciation, dipping my head to kiss, lick and bite down his chest all the way to the waistband of his pants. I hooked my fingers in it, ready to ease them down to reach his harden shaft, but he let out a savage growl, lacing his fingers through my waist long hair to pull me back up.

Before I could even think of protesting, his lips covered mine roughly. The move was so hot and dominant that I was moaning wildly, my hands roaming across every available inch of skin I could reach. With every stroke of his tongue against mine, a warm tingling began between my legs.

"Fuck, Lo." He whispered huskily, his other hand reaching for the hem of the tank top I had on to pull it off of me. The minute it was off, and my breasts were exposed, he let out a loud groan before pushing me back onto the bed and climbing on top of me. "You're fucking perfect." He muttered, running his hands up from up my body to cup my breast.

"Stop teasing." I hissed, bringing my leg up to hook around his hip, pulling him tighter against me. I lined up our hips together, and ground myself against him, laughing when he buried his face in my neck. In retaliation, his hand squeezed me tightly, feeling deliciously amazing. "Eric." I moaned arching my back, pushing myself against his hand.

Kissing down my injured shoulder, he made his way down my aching nipple licking teasingly, while his hand pinched my other one, causing a delish wave a heat wash through my entire body. I let out a gasp when he bit down gently on my nipple and reached up to lace my hands through his hair to hold him against me. When he started to suckle, I nearly lost it, grinding against him harder than before. When he switched his attention to my other nipple, his hand started drifting down, heading straight to my black lace panties.

He shifted off of me, without moving his mouth, to slip his hand into my panties. He released my nipple with a pop, when his hand reached my folds. "Fucking shit, Lo, you're so wet." He groaned against the underside of my breast, then began kissing down my body while pulling my panties down at the same time. "Fucking perfect." He whispered against my skin as he licked and bit his way down to my most sensitive spot.

By the time he had my panties off, I was breathing hard, my head thrown back against the sheets eyes closed against the crazy sensations he brought on. "Look at me, baby." He ordered, grabbing my ankles to open me up to him. I opened my eyes, locking them with his blue ones. Slowly, I watched him lower himself until his face was positioned between my legs, not once looking away from me. "You're mine." He growled before settling his mouth over my pussy. I screamed when he sucked my clit into his mouth, alternating between sucking and flicking it with his talented tongue over it. "Don't you dare close your eyes." He growled when my eyes started to close. Opening my eyes, I watched as he pressed the flat of his tongue on my clit and lick me until I saw stars.

When I felt his fingers join in, my hips started bucking like crazy, my moans getting louder and louder as I felt something build up inside of me. It was when his fingers curled inside of me, that I exploded, a white light flashing across my vision. "Eric!" I cried, riding out my orgasm as I grinded against his face and fingers.

When came back down from my high, Eric sat up and started working his pants off. Sitting up I grabbed him by his belt looks and brought him closer to me. "I can help you with that." I murmured, looking at him from beneath my lashes, popping the button of his pants open easily.

"Now who's teasing." He gritted out, watching as I slowly slid his zipper down, while pressing kisses against his tummy.

"It's called payback, babe." I bit him gently, easing the pain with my tongue. Impatient, Eric shoved his pants down and off, leaving himself in just his white boxers, that did nothing to hide his erection. "Impatient as ever." I murmured pressing a kiss against his swollen limb, loving the sound of his breath hissing out.

I continued to press kisses against it as I pulled the boxers down and letting it spring free. I groaned when I watched his dick, pink and swollen with a shiny pearl leaking from the tip. Leaning forward, I swirled my tongue across the tip to catch it before taking him fully into my mouth. "Shit." He hissed, his hand tangling into my hair to hold me in place, rocking his hips to fuck my mouth. I took him deep in my throat, moaning deeply around him.

Letting out a strangled sound, Eric pumped his hips a couple more times before pulling out and throwing me back onto the bed. I let out a sharp cry of protest until, he crawled up my body and settling between my legs. He rubbed his tip against my weeping pussy lips, before slowly pushing into me.

Gasping out, I wrapped my legs around him, urging him to go deeper and faster. Thankfully, he listened to me and plunged in, hard and deep, drawing a loud cry from my lips. He stilled, pushing himself up to look down at me, his face strained but concerned. "Did I hurt you?" He asked hoarsely.

I growled in frustration, pushing his shoulder so he rolled over, leaving me on top. "No you didn't, but you're going to slow for my liking." I whispered leaning down to kiss him, while lowering myself on his throbbing dick. Moaning against him, I rose up only to slam back down.

"You're going to fucking kill me." He muttered, grabbing hold of my ass with both hands to lift me and slam me down onto him faster and harder. Soon enough we were both slick with sweat, the room loud with the sounds of our pleasure. I felt the pressure building within me, and just when I was about to let go, he slipped out of me, pushing me off and positioning me onto my knees. Lining himself up behind me, he didn't waste time in plunging back in, holding onto my hips as he pounded into me. The pressure started up faster than before, and exploded within seconds, knocking the breath right out of me. My arms slipped out from under me, my face burying into the sheets as he started thrusting even faster than before, making my orgasm last longer from the feel of his dick swelling up even more inside of me. And then Eric was pulling out of me, covering my ass and back with warm, sticky cum.

I slid down onto my tummy breathing just as hard as Eric, who was holding himself up above me, trying to regain his breath. I was half asleep with I felt him move towards the bathroom. I ignored the running water, waiting for him to finish before I could go clean up. When the noise stopped and he returned to the bed, I tried to ready my tired body to get up, when he surprised me by running a damp towel over my body; cleaning me.

"Never pictured you as the sweet and caring type." I teased, turning to face him, loving the small quirky smile he gave me.

"I don't usually do this." He admitted.

"Don't say things like that, otherwise I'll think I'm special." I laughed softly, feeling completely satisfied. He finished cleaning me, and then pulled me against him.

"But you are special, Lo." He murmured softly, settling me against his chest, where I'm sure he could tell that my heart was going crazy. I didn't say anything, instead cuddled into him, loving the feel of his naked body pressed up against me. It wasn't long before I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.


	13. Author's Note

Hello everyone! I know it's been the longest since I've uploaded a new chapter, and I am terribly sorry for that.

However I'm here to tell you guys that I'm actually in the process of editing the story, not only checking for spelling and grmmar mistakes but also changing a few things about it. During the months that i suffered from terrible writer's block I found myself toying with different ideas for the story. They've led to a couple changes, and yes you would have to re-read the story from the beginning. The concept is still the same, it's the scenes that are just different in order for the story to move in the direction I wanted it to go.

I do not know when I'll be uploading the story as I've only managed to re-write the first two chapters due to my busy college schedule, but rest assure by the end of May i should have two chapters up and with a steady update schedule.

Thank you to those who have been extremely patient with me and are still hanging on to see what's going to happen to Willow and the rest of the Characters!

-DivergentIAm


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